Darkfall
by GaaLee-girl-13
Summary: In a seemingly harmless story come to life, group of friends find themselves taken into a world where Darkness consumes the land. With the forces of Darkness growing stronger every moment, will they be able learn of the Darkness and defeat it against all odds? And can they realize even more about themselves? EriSol, AU, LOZ Twilight Princess setting. Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Re-running updates, so everything's being revamped. Witch0fTime and I are getting in the swing of things again, but as you've seen, we need time to work everything out. Heck, we're still finding little glitches in the first few chapters! Thank you to all of our followers for your patience. I hope this fic will be a just reward in the end (that is, if you can put up with us for that long ^^')! Thank you all._

Warm sunlight filtered in through the window as the five friends savored their coffee. The small, cozy room echoed with the sounds of coffee beans being ground, the high-pitched whistle as milk was steamed, and the low, murmuring voices of the other patrons.

"She heard a noise behind her. 'Hello?' she whispered. No one answered."

"Why would you try to talk to the guy that busted into your house in the middle of the night? That makes absolutely no sense." There was a general, annoyed sigh as the group was taken out of the story by the rude interruption.

"Shh! Let her finish!" three anxious voices whispered in unison.

The boy who had spoken out crossed his arms, fuming silently. The somber mood returned as the friends leaned in to hear the end of the tale.

"She slowly turned around. There was a silhouette behind her, but she couldn't make out who it was. She stepped closer, and...BOO!"

Four panicked friends sat up in their chairs, startled. One boy, adorned with thick glasses and a high collared purple coat, rocketed to his feet. The other customers turned to scowl at the teenagers before begrudgingly returning to their coffee.

"I got you, Eridan! I got you so good! You were scared!" the girl across the table who had been telling the story giggled.

"That's not fair, Feferi! And I wasn't scared. You just...startled me..." he trailed off lamely.

"I thought that was the stupidest story in the history of ever. Can't you think of anything better? I mean, it was totally unrealistic and the characters made me want to puke." Karkat, as ever, was less than agreeable, and as he continued to point out every single flaw in Feferi's story, the others slowly tuned him out to move on to more interesting topics.

"Ok, so who's turn is it now?" a girl dressed in red asked.

The boy sitting next to her sighed. "Do I have to do thith?" His lisp brought a small smile to Eridan's face.

"Yes, Sollux, you have to. Everyone else went! Well, except Karkat." The boy in question paused in the middle of his rant, shot her an evil glare, and continued. "It's your turn." As she said the last word, she poked Sollux in the stomach. He swatted her hand away.

"Aradia, cut it out!" he sighed again dramatically. "Well, lookth like the queen of everything hath ordered me to entertain her. I gueth I'll indulge her," he glowered jokingly at her, "thith time."

She laughed. "Just tell us a scary story, Sollux. It won't be the end of the world. Besides, we can't stay here much longer. They'll kick us out."

"Fine!" he flung his hands up into the air in defeat. As everyone quieted down, they realized with a start that Karkat was still ranting. "Karkat, shut up. I'm trying to tell a thuper lame thcary thtory."

"At least you admit that yours is going to be lame, unlike some people," he grumbled. Feferi slapped his arm.

"Guyth! Ok, lithen. Thith ith a thtory that I heard when I wath younger." He hesitated a bit. "And it'th true." The teenagers leaned in closer, intrigued by this introduction.

"Tho a couple yearth ago, a girl named Jade lived here. She wath our age, and had three really good friendth named John, Dave, and Rothe. Tho they had all jutht gotten out of thchool for thpring break, and they had made planth to meet up at thith very coffee shop the nextht day. When Jade got here, Dave and Rothe were thitting there waiting. But the thing ith, John never showed up. They called hith phone like twenty timeth, and he never picked up. Tho they were kinda freaked out, but they dethided that he mutht jutht be buthy. They made a plan to meet again in two dayth.

"When they met up the thecond time, only Dave and Jade showed up. Both of them were kinda worried by thith point becauthe neither of them had heard anything from John in the patht two dayth, and now Rothe wath gone, too. They didn't really have the heart to thtay when half of their group wath mithing, tho they jutht went home.

"The nextht day, Jade emailed Dave to thee if he'd heard anything from John or Rothe. He didn't reply. Thee, usually Dave wath on hith computer all day, every day, never away from hith computer ever. Tho when he didn't reply, Jade got even more thcared. She went to hith houthe to check on him, but when hith brother anthwered the door, he thaid Dave wathn't home. Hadn't been home thinthe he went out to have coffee with her the day before.

"The nextht day, Jade wath gone, too. No one knowth where any of them went. And they haven't been theen thinthe."

There was a long, cold pause. Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Even Karkat, for once, seemed lost for words.

"When did this happen?" Feferi finally broke the silence with a fearful whisper.

"Thirteen yearth ago. The year we were all born."

Karkat finally found his voice. "That's ridiculous and stupid. Stuff like that just doesn't happen, and you're an idiot for thinking it does." Everyone glared at him, and he shrank back into his chair a little.

The friends sat in nervous silence for a long time until Aradia reminded them that they had better get going. They all silently agreed, and slowly the group gathered their things and shuffled towards the door. After a few soft goodbyes were said, everyone split apart, Sollux walking with Aradia, Karkat stalking down another street, and Eridan following Feferi back to their house.

"Hey, sis?" Eridan started, trying to get his step-sibling's attention. "Do you think it's true?" he asked as they walked.

"What? Sollux's story?" Feferi shrugged, laughing. "It seems pretty far fetched for me!" she said.

"You're probably right."

"Probably?" she laughed. Eridan waited for her to continue. Feferi glanced over her shoulder nervously.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, it just felt like someone was watching me." She looked at Eridan with a hint of worry. "You know that feeling, right? When someone stares at the back of your head and you get that prickling feeling in your neck?" She gestured to the back of her head with one hand, the other waving around in front of her. She looked over her shoulder again, then slowly brought her hands to rest at her sides. "Oh well. I'm sure it was nothing!" Feferi laughed uncertainly. "But, really, Eridan. Sollux lives to give us grief. I'm sure he's just playing."

"If you say so..."

Despite her assurances, Feferi was oddly quiet as they walked home, only speaking to respond to Eridan. She unlocked the door hastily, fumbling with the key as she peered fearfully over her shoulder. She stepped inside quickly, then sighed and wandered into the living room. She started into her normal routine, drifting to the bookshelf in the corner and pulling off one of the giant medical encyclopedias before half-falling into the recliner. Eridan watched her for a moment before shrugging and bounding up the stairs to his room. He fell onto the bed, pulling his computer towards him and opening his email. Eridan sifted through it half-heartedly, looking for anything important beneath the junk. His cursor rested on a subjectless message from Sollux, sent just a few minutes ago. He rolled his eyes, opening the email and reading it slowly.

I bet you don't believe the 2tory.

Eridan smiled, adding the lisp in even when it wasn't there.

But it wa2 true. All four of them went mi22ing 13 year2 ago. I found the new2 article online. People 2ay that the midnight creature2 took them into the darkne22. The2e black thing2 would follow the cho2en victim2 and then drag them through thi2 wall, a wall made of pure dark energy. 2ome 2ay that once you were pulled through the wall, you would be tran2formed into a creature of the Darkne22 too. I know you probably don't believe me, But 2omething ju2t i2n't right. I can feel it. Like 2omething i2 alway2 watching me. It feel2 like eye2, boring into the back of my head. Ju2t think about it, ok?

Eridan stared at the large text for a moment. He remembered what Feferi had said on the way home, about being watched, and shuddered. Sure, Sollux was known for screwing with people, but something was off in this email. Something that made Eridan think Sollux wasn't joking. He shook his head in disbelief.

As he moved the mouse to close the window, a banner on the left side of the browser caught his attention. He paused to read it. In large, ominous black letters, it read 'Have You Seen This Girl?'. The banner was adorned with three pictures of a slimly built girl, about his age. In each one she was either holding a cat or there was a cat nearby. She smiled unabashedly at the camera, short dark hair sticking up in every direction. She was wearing a long green coat in every picture, and for an instant Eridan thought he recognized her. He shuddered, unintentionally connecting the disconcerting email with the missing girl. Just thinking about it sent chills racing along his spine.

There was a loud, low thud from downstairs as Feferi awkwardly shut the unwieldy encyclopedia. Eridan jolted unintentionally. "Eridan, are you still hiding in your room?" his step-sister called from downstairs. "Sollux's story wasn't that scary!" she said with a laugh.

Eridan hastily closed the website and stuck his tongue out at the door, knowing she couldn't see him. "Of course it wasn't scary! I just needed to check something is all," he called back, closing his computer and setting it on the bed. It stared back at him ominously. "Just checking something," he murmured softly.


	2. Chapter 2

Before the door to the school had even closed, Sollux had grabbed Eridan's arm, pulling him into the recesses of an empty classroom. "Sollux, let go!" His fingers were digging painfully into Eridan's arm. Eridan pulled away roughly. "What?" he asked indignantly.

Sollux paused, then collapsed into one of the nearby desks. He rested his head on one hand, the other laying uselessly on the hard wood. "Karkat'th really methed up. You know that weird kid that he hangth out with, right?"

"Gamzee? Yeah..." Eridan flinched at the undesired image of the tall, thin boy. "He kinda freaks me out, with all that weird face makeup. And why anyone would let their hair get that disgusting is beyond me." Eridan ran a hand through his own neatly brushed hair, fingering his carefully bleached bangs.

"Yeah, well he'th gone."

Eridan turned his head. "What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean gone. No one'th theen him for a week and a half. No one pickth up the phone number that'th in the thchool directory."

"So? The kid finally overdosed himself on those weird home-made drugs and died in a ditch somewhere. Good riddance, if you ask me," Eridan snapped.

"How can you be tho inthenthitive?" Sollux growled. "He and Karkat were really clothe."

"It's not my problem."

"Karkat ith'nt even coming to thchool today. He called me thith morning, and hith voithe wath all hard and thtrained. I think you and me should go to hith houthe after thchool and help him out."

"Sollux. Karkat and I aren't good friends. Gamzee and I never got along. I think I said two words to him in my whole life, 'go away'. Besides, I don't have time. I have homework and stuff."

"Don't you have a heart? Thpare him jutht a little thympathy. Pleathe?"

"No." The bell rang. "Come on, I have to go to class and so do you." Eridan offered his hand to Sollux. Sollux didn't move. "Fine." Eridan let his hand drop and stalked out of the room.

As the final bell rang, Eridan remembered Sollux's desperate plea from the morning, and another shiver of guilt ran through him. He gathered his things into his backpack and slung it expertly over his shoulder as he wrestled with his indecision,. He didn't really have much homework, and nothing going on later in the evening. But sitting in a bedroom trying to comfort someone who he didn't know very well did not appeal to Eridan. _I don't owe him anything,_ Eridan told himself. He started for the front door, then stopped. _He'll be waiting there for me, just to ask one more time._ Eridan turned around, slinking out of a side door instead. He rounded the building cautiously. As he had suspected, Sollux was anxiously pacing just outside the main entrance. He turned and crossed the street toward home, moving quickly in case Sollux turned around.

As he walked the final block to his house, he felt a sudden chill descend on him. He quickened his step again. He had the strangest feeling that something was watching him. _Just a little farther..._ he thought nervously. The last few steps to his front door became a mad sprint as his irrational fear overpowered his sense of reasoning. The door flew back explosively, hitting the wall as Eridan dashed inside, whirled around, and slammed it shut again. He leaned against the door, breathing hard, eyes shut.

_Get a grip._

"Eridan? What the heck was that?" Feferi stared at him from the easy chair. As he had suspected, she was weighted down by another large book that read _Human Anatomy_ in large, unappealing black letters down the side.

"Nothin'." He locked the door behind him. She shrugged. "Whatever," she mumbled as she turned her attention back to the book. He shuffled down the hall, making a conscious effort to move slowly, casually. _See? There is NOTHING wrong here. I'm just in my house with my step-sister. Safe._ As he reached the end of the hall, the phone on the wall in the kitchen caught his attention.

_I should call Sollux and apologize._ He took a step towards it.

_What would that accomplish? It's not like you're deciding to go to Karkat's house._

He took another step forward, racked with indecision. Finally, he turned away, walking purposefully up the stairs into his room. The guilt weighed down on him like a stone, but before he could reconsider, he buried it deep inside himself.

Throwing his backpack heavily onto the floor, he grabbed his computer and collapsed in a heap on the bed. After checking his email and opening his IM program, he shoved the computer to the other end of the bed and grabbed his math book and paper out of his backpack.

He stared uncomprehendingly at problem one of the assignment for about fifteen minutes, then gave up, sliding his math book onto the floor next to his bed. He pulled out the book he was reading in English. _Just a chapter, shouldn't be that hard, right?_ He flipped through the pages of the small hardback, searching uselessly for his place. By the time he had found it, there was a new message alert on his computer screen. Setting the book down open on his bed, he pulled the computer back onto his lap.

It was a message from Karkat.

IS SOLLUX WITH YOU?

Confused, Eridan accepted the chat invitation.

No? Wwhy?

He shook his head as his computer added an extra letter. _I need a new computer. Even if it does look kind of cool._

HE CALLED A FEW MINUTES AGO TO SAY THAT HE WAS COMING OVER, BUT HE HASN'T SHOWED UP YET.

Hmmm... Wwell,he isn't here.

OK. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM AT ALL TODAY?

Yeah, I saww him just after school.

OK. THANKS, I GUESS.

The sting of guilt returned as Eridan closed the chat. He reached instinctively for the cell phone in his pocket, then stopped short. _I can't just call him. It'll show him that he won._ He picked up the book, the pages now bent, and finished the chapter. After that, he faked his way through the math lesson, writing down a bunch of random formulas and numbers that he found in the book. All the while, he couldn't help worrying about Sollux. He pulled the computer onto his lap once more and checked the time on his chat with Karkat. The chat was opened at four forty-five, an hour and a half after school ended.

_What was he doing that it takes an hour and a half or more to walk six blocks to Karkat's house?_ He avoided answering the question directly, though sudden thoughts of kidnap and murder flashed through his brain. Taking a deep breath, he vaulted himself up off the bed and wandered back down the stairs in search of food.

As he entered the kitchen, the floor creaked behind him. He whirled around, the fear he had so carefully tamped down rising once more. Feferi stood a few feet behind him, clutching the book to her chest. "What?!" she said apprehensively. "God, you are acting so weird tonight. What's gotten into you?"

"Like I said before, it's nothin'." As carefully as he tried to force his fear into submission, he couldn't keep the small tremor out of his voice. Fortunately, she didn't seem to hear it.

"Whatever. What I needed to say was, Mom called. She said that she and Douglas were running a little late, and that they probably wouldn't get home 'til after midnight. So you're stuck with my cooking." She smiled sarcastically.

"Oh, the joys of having a step-sister." She hefted the book up onto the counter, then turned and slapped his arm. "I'm goin' back upstairs. Tell me when you're done burnin' the kitchen down." Before she could retort anything, he dashed up the stairs two at a time. A carefully aimed wooden spoon missed him by a hair's breadth. He reached his room and slammed the door, just to annoy her. On cue, she screamed, "Don't slam the doors! This house is old!"

Laughing softly under his breath, he sat on the bed again. There was a new message from Karkat. As he read, the smile faded from his face.

IT'S BEEN LIKE THREE HOURS, AND SOLLUX STILL ISN'T HERE. I'M KINDA WORRIED. HE'S NOT USUALLY LATE TO ANYTHING. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE HE IS?

ARE YOU EVEN ON RIGHT NOW?

GOD, OF ALL THE TIMES TO BE AWAY FROM THE KEYBOARD, ERIDAN, THIS IS THE FUCKING WORST.

WHATEVER. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. I'M WORRIED ABOUT HIM. HE'S NOT ANSWERING HIS PHONE AND HE ALWAYS ANSWERS HIS PHONE. I CALLED ARADIA, AND SHE DIDN'T ANSWER, EITHER. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO. I DON'T WANT HIM TO GO MISSING LIKE GAMZEE.

Eridan stared at the words on the screen, but he couldn't seem to find a meaning for them. With a shock, Sollux's voice from a few days before reverberated through his mind.

_...called hith phone like twenty timeth, and he never picked up...went to hith houthe to check on him...wathn't there...haven't been theen thinthe..._

Eridan tried to calm himself down. _It was just a stupid story._ But this made two people missing, Gamzee and Sollux. Almost without thinking about it, Eridan pulled up the email Sollux had sent him about the story.

i bet you don't believe the 2tory.

But it wa2 true. All four of them went mi22ing 13 year2 ago. I found the new2 article online. People 2ay that the midnight creature2 took them into the darkne22. The2e black thing2 would follow the cho2en victim2 and then drag them through thi2 wall, a wall made of pure dark energy. 2ome 2ay that once you were pulled through the wall, you would be tran2formed into a creature of the Darkne22 too. I know you probably don't believe me, But 2omething ju2t i2n't right. I can feel it. Like 2omething is alway2 watching me. It feel2 like eye2, boring into the back of my head. Ju2t think about it, ok?

He reread it, and couldn't stop the chill that gripped his heart. He remembered the feeling of someone watching him on the way home earlier. He shuddered involuntarily.

_Oh my god...Sollux..._

Slowly, he hit the forward key, struggling to remember Karkat's email address.

"Hey Eridan! Food's up! Get your ass down here if you want to get fed!" Fef called up the stairwell.

Eridan cursed under his breath, finishing the email address to the best of his ability and hastily pressing send. "Comin'!" he called. He placed his computer carefully open on his desk, leaving his IM and email running, and ran down the stairs. But no matter how fast he went, he couldn't outrun the lingering sense of fear.


	3. Chapter 3

Eridan ate his dinner as fast as possible, trying not to choke on the poorly prepared food. When he was done, he told Feferi to leave him alone, and locked himself in his room. There was a reply from Karkat, as well as a new message. Eridan looked at the email first.

Karkat V.

Re:Fwd:(no subject)

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D DO THIS. DO YOU HONESTLY EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT SOLLUX'S DUMB STORY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS DISAPPEARANCE? THAT'S BULLSHIT. THE FACT THAT YOU'D EVEN BRING IT UP...YOU MAKE ME SICK. THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME YET ANOTHER REASON WHY I HATE LIFE.

The sense of defeat Eridan felt as he closed the email was complete. With a sigh, he opened the IM message from Karkat. The time of send was just a few minutes ago.

I'M SORRY I DOUBTED YOU. I THINK YOU ARE RIGHT. I WAS SO PISSED OFF BY YOUR STUPID FORWARD THAT I TOOK A WALK TO BLOW OFF SOME STEAM. AND I FELT LIKE THERE WAS SOMETHING WATCHING ME THE WHOLE TIME, JUST LIKE IN THE EMAIL. AND IT MADE ME REMEMBER SOMETHING TEREZI SAID TO ME A COUPLE DAYS AGO. SHE THOUGHT I WAS FOLLOWING HER AROUND BECAUSE SHE KEPT FEELING SOMEONE WATCHING HER. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK. I KNOW YOU AREN'T THAT CLOSE TO HER, BUT COULD YOU PLEASE TALK TO HER FOR ME? I DON'T WANT HER TO GET ANY MORE ANGRY WITH ME THAN SHE ALREADY IS.

Eridan grimaced, thinking about the confrontation that was about to take place. But he had to try. Eridan quickly replied to Karkat's message.

I'll try, but if she bites my head off I'm blamin' you.

He switched from offline messaging to IM'ing. _Please let her be offline._ He looked at the list of online friends.

_Damn._

It reported treacherously that gallowsCalibrator was online. He braced himself for what was coming, clicked her name, and selected 'Chat'.

Hey Terezi.

If this is another one of Karkat's stupid impersonal apologies, you can just fuck off.

It's not. I need to talk to you about somethin' important.

This had better be quick. I'm busy.

Readin' another one of your stupid court books?

None of your business.

Wwhatevver. It's about Sollux.

Hmmm. Interesting.

Wwhat?

Nothing. Continue.

It's about Gamzee, too.

What?!

Terezi, wwhatevver is goin' on in your messed up brain is definitely not wwhat I'm talkin' about. Sollux and Gamzee are missin'.

What do you mean 'missing'?

I mean no one's seen or heard from Gamzee in a wweek and a half, and Sollux hasn't been seen since 3pm today and isn't answwerin' his phone.

Sounds like murder to me.

Wwhat?

Well it does. Just think about it. Two teenage boys go missing just a week or so apart from each other?

Terezi, this isn't the time to rant about one of your conspiracies.

And they both share a friend, Karkat. Do you know what this means?

Oh for god's sake.

They both got sick of Karkat, and so he killed them.

Get your head out of your mystery books. This is a serious problem!

He would, though. I bet he's got the murder weapon hidden at his house somewhere.

Terezi, just shut up and listen, ok? Karkat didn't murder them. I think they wwere kidnapped.

By Karkat!

No! Last time wwe met up for coffee, wwhen you wweren't there, Sollux told this story about some kids 13 years ago wwho got kidnapped. Before they wwent missin', they all said that they felt like they wwere bein' wwatched.

Oh my god. Karkat did send you. I knew it!

No, listen! He did, but not to apologize.

He thinks he's so clever, trying to freak me out with his weird mind games. Fuck off, asshole.

Eridan sighed, rubbing his forehead as he closed the chatbox. "Well, that was successful," he muttered sarcastically to himself. He reopened the chat with Karkat. It announced that he was online.

That wwas a fuckin' nightmare.

ERIDAN!

Terezi is bein' a total idiot.

WELL, I DIDN'T SAY SHE WASN'T.

WWhatevver. She didn't believve me.

WHAT DID SHE SAY ABOUT BEING WATCHED?

WWell, she sort of screamed at me wwhen I mentioned, so I'm guessin' that she does feel like that. I think she thinks it's some sort of plot you and I havve to try and scare her.

OF ALL THE IDIOTIC THINGS...

SO WHAT NOW?

WWhat do you mean?

WELL, IT SEEMS TO ME LIKE SHE'S ABOUT TO BE TAKEN. AND ME, TOO.

And me.

WHAT?!

I felt it too. Somethin' wwas wwatchin' me on the wway home.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. WHAT CAN WE DO?

I don't knoww.

I READ THE ARTICLE THAT SOLLUX WAS TALKING ABOUT.

Really?

YEAH. IT SAID THAT ONE PERSON SAW ONE OF THE KIDS GET TAKEN, AND SHE WENT INSANE. EVERYONE TRIED TO GET HER TO TALK ABOUT IT, BUT SHE WOULDN'T. SHE EVENTUALLY KILLED HERSELF.

WWonderful.

DO YOU THINK WE ARE GOING TO DIE?

I don't knoww.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE BEING WATCHED RIGHT NOW?

No. Do you?

YEAH.

Oh god.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

Neither do I.

WELL I GUESS WORRYING OVER IT LIKE IDIOTS ISN'T GOING TO HELP US. IF I'M STILL HERE TOMORROW, MEET ME IN ROOM 17 BEFORE SCHOOL.

Ok.

BYE. HOPE I SEE YOU THEN.

The mouse hovered over the chat for a moment before Eridan moved it decisively to the close button. As Eridan shut down his computer, something tickled faintly at the back of his memory. Something important that he should have remembered before. He tried to figure out what it was, then sighed and collapsed on his bed. _It can't be that important._

He flicked off the lamp on his desk. _I'll figure it out tomorrow._


	4. Chapter 4

Eridan practically sprinted into the school, weaving his way through the halls until he reached room 17. He burst through the door. Karkat jumped on the other side.

"What the hell was that for?" he yelled.

"Sorry. I'm just sorta on edge right now," Eridan apologized.

"Whatever. I'm still here, so that's good." Karkat's anger faded. "Tavros is gone."

"Who?"

"The wheelchair kid. The one that plays those online role playing games with Terezi?" A vague image of a self-conscious boy with too much hair piled on top of his head formed in Eridan's brain. "He's gone." Karkat finished.

"That makes three. And two more on the list."

Eridan's stomach dropped in realization. "Three more."

Karkat's face twisted in confusion. "What?"

"Feferi. I forgot." The memory he had tried to access the night before flooded back. "That day, after Sollux told the story, she said...something was watching her. Oh my god..." Eridan couldn't control the horror that coursed through his veins.

"I'm sorry," Karkat murmured, unsure of what else to say.

Eridan tried to change the subject. "And what about Aradia? Did she ever say anything? She was close to Sollux, right?" Eridan asked, panic still racing through him.

Karkat shook his head. "I was never able to get a hold of her. I think she's gone, too."

Eridan let himself fall into one of the desks, burying his head in his hands.

"What are we going to do?" Karkat asked him.

"I don't know, Karkat. I just don't know." The bell rang, and both boys left, each feeling the same haunting fear.

Eridan practically collapsed into his desk, his mind still on his conversation with Karkat. The teacher began taking roll. A familiar name broke Eridan out of his trance.

"Sollux Captor? Sollux? No Sollux today? Hmmm..." the teacher muttered, marking something on her computer screen.

Something broke inside Eridan. Until now, the fact that Sollux might be gone had been remote, almost dreamlike. But sitting here, realizing that Sollux was not sitting two desks behind him, guilt ripped through him. _Oh my god...Sollux, I'm so sorry._ He buried his head in his math book to hide the tears that gathered without warning and cascaded down his cheeks. _I should have been there with you. I should have been going to Karkat's, and instead I slunk away like a selfish idiot. If I'd been there, maybe..._ He couldn't even bear to finish the thought. His silent tears continued to fall on his desk. The students on either side of him stared at him in wonder for a few moments before having the decency to ignore him.

_I'm sorry._

He wandered through the rest of the school day in a dazed stupor, guilt pressing in on him from all sides.

When Eridan got home that night, there was yet another message from Karkat waiting for him on his desktop.

HEY, SO IF WE'RE BOTH STILL HERE TOMORROW, MEET IN ROOM 17 AGAIN?

ALSO, I CAN'T FIND TEREZI. WELL OK, WHAT I MEAN IS, HER STATUS SAYS SHE'S ONLINE, BUT SHE WON'T ANSWER ME. I THINK SHE'S STILL ANGRY. I KNOW THINGS DIDN'T GO WELL BETWEEN YOU TWO LAST NIGHT, BUT CAN YOU PLEASE JUST TRY? FOR ME? I WANT TO WARN HER.

Eridan didn't even have to think about it.

Fine.

He selected Terezi's handle, and hit 'Chat'.

Hey, I knoww you're mad at me, and Karkat. But you havve to listen. This is really important. I think you might be in danger. I don't knoww for sure, but I think you're goin' to be kidnapped next. Please stop ignorin' me. Wwe need to come up wwith a plan.

Eridan navigated away from the chatbox. For lack of a better thing to do while he waited for Terezi's response, he opened his web browser and finished another level on the online game he had become ensconced in. He looked at the clock on his computer. About forty-five minutes had passed. He frowned. _I must have missed the notification sound._ He closed the webpage and reopened the chatbox. Terezi hadn't responded. Eridan stared at the screen, a dark terror surfacing inside him as he messaged her again.

Hello?

Terezi?

Are you there?

_Maybe she's just away from her keyboard,_ Eridan reassured himself.

_For forty-five minutes?_ Another voice whispered evilly. He tried one, last-ditch effort to get her to respond.

This isn't funny.

Please answwer me?

Oh my god

Eridan's mind felt numb as he returned to his chat with Karkat.

She's gone.

Eridan didn't have the will to stay online after that. He shut down his computer and shoved it away, burying his head in his arms. _Why am I so useless?! _he mentally screamed. _This is all my fault. If I could just get my act together, Sollux and Terezi would still be here._ He closed his eyes, the memory of staring down the hill at Sollux taunting him mercilessly. _I'm so sorry...I should have done something. Anything._

Desperate for something to distract him from the sense of impending doom resting heavily on his shoulders, he stood numbly and stumbled out of his room and down the stairs.

Feferi looked up at him from the recliner in shock. "Hey look! The hermit's out of his cave!" He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could she interrupted him. "Did you know that one of the ways to tell if you have strep throat is to deduce if you have other cold symptoms? If you do, then you don't have strep." She paused for some sort of expression of interest, and when she gained none she sank deeper into the chair. "What do you want, anyway? Did your computer die or something?"

"Shut up," he muttered sullenly.

"So what is it that he needs so much to actually come out of his room?" she inquired sarcastically, shutting her newest medical book in a puff of dust.

"I come out of my room just to talk sometimes, you know," Eridan snapped. He was on edge, and didn't need to suffer Feferi's biting words.

Feferi stopped. "Really?"

"Yeah. I just want to hang out."

She stood up slowly, placing the book on the coffee table and poking Eridan in the arm like he was a dead thing. "Who are you and what have you done with my step-brother?"

"I'm serious! Just say what you want to talk about or do or whatever."

"Well...I was just about to...well I mean I wanted to..." she trailed off, clearly embarrassed.

"What?" Despite the lingering dread, Eridan couldn't contain the smile that spread across his face.

Feferi sighed. "I wanted to check out this video game. It has a multiplayer option, if you want to play too."

Eridan laughed. "You? Playing a video game? I didn't think you had it in you."

Feferi joined in his fits of laughter. "Well I guess we're both just full of surprises, huh? Come on, help me set it up. I don't know how it works." She pointed toward the Xbox underneath their TV.

Eridan smiled, leading her step by step through the setup procedure. Then he explained what each of the buttons on the controller did. She nodded enthusiastically, and Eridan launched the game.

The screen darkened ominously. It showed their two avatars inside a dilapidated mansion. Lightning flashed outside the digital window. A narrating voice explained that they had heard a sound in the room above them, even though they were the only ones in the house. Eridan smiled, losing himself in the routine mashing of buttons as he and Feferi discovered a legion of zombies pouring into the house. Feferi screamed shrilly every single time a zombie popped out of a closet or from around a corner, and Eridan cooly reminded her to shoot it in response.

At last, the final zombie fell gurgling to the ground. "Yes!" Feferi shouted excitedly, raising her hand for a high five from Eridan. Eridan indulged her, and they revelled in their victory for a few minutes, recalling to life all of the gruesome details. Finally, Feferi noticed the clock.

"Oh my god, Eridan! We just played for like, five hours! It's after ten! Mom and Douglas will be home any minute! Quick, we've got to get to bed before they catch us!" Feferi quickly and expertly turned everything off, Eridan watching from the side silently congratulating himself on a job well done. "Come on!" She grabbed his arm, dragging him toward the stairs. "Oh! Wait right here!" She rushed back into the living room and returned moments later lugging the medical book. She seized his arm in passing and pulled him up the stairs, then shoved him back into his room.

"I didn't think you'd be so excited to put me back into my cave!" he shouted over his shoulder. She rolled her eyes and shut the door. He smiled wryly, pulling the covers back and changing quickly into his pajamas. His eyes fell on his computer. It sat on his desk like a living thing, laughing at him.

_Sure, you had fun with Feferi tonight, but how much longer will she be here?_

Eridan turned away. He took a shirt and threw it over his computer, hiding it completely. Silently, he got in bed, hoping for sleep to come quickly and rid him of his fear.


	5. Chapter 5

Eridan's eyes snapped open as his alarm clock woke him up. He vaulted out of bed, slamming the clock violently as he ricocheted through his room. His mind was consumed with fear. _What if Karkat's gone? What if Feferi's gone? What if it's waiting right outside the house?_ Try as he might, the terror would not leave him.

He burst through his door. It banged loudly as he raced down the stairs into the kitchen. "Feferi?" he called, failing miserably at keeping the panic out of his voice.

"Eridan, what the hell? How many times have I told you not to slam the doors! Jeez, what's wrong with you?" Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, and the irritation seeped through her words. Eridan sighed, but the relief was short lived.

"I'm goin' early," he called over his shoulder as he snatched an apple from the counter. As he left, the door swinging wildly behind him, he could only imagine Feferi's face as she stared after him.

When Eridan reached room 17, he could already tell something was wrong. He opened the door slowly, trying to stall his fear from consuming him.

"Karkat?" There was no response. "Are you in there?" He opened the door farther. The room was completely empty.

Panic enveloped him. _Come on. There's still a couple minutes. Maybe he's running late._ But even that thought couldn't convince Eridan. Karkat was gone. Now he and Feferi were the only ones left.

He tried to focus. _They can't very well take us at school, can they? Everyone would see._ The bell rang. Eridan's heart sank as Karkat's final hope was shattered in that instant.

_Why can't I do anything right?!_

He shuffled, half-dead, through the halls to his first class, fear and guilt clinging to him like a shadow.

His classes went by in a blur. At the end of the day, Eridan whipped out his phone. He wanted to make sure that Feferi walked home with him, so they couldn't take her. The screen lit up, announcing loudly that he had an unopened text.

Stopping by store after school. C u home

"Shit," he spat, dialing her number as he ran out the door. She picked up on the fourth ring.

"Eridan?"

"Feferi, I need you to stop."

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"I don't have time to explain, but you've got to come home with me. Now. Where are you?"

"What? I'm on the corner of Linders and Second. Kinda up the hill from the school." There was a twinge of fear in her voice. "Tell me what's wrong."

"You wouldn't believe me. Just stay put. I'm coming to find you."

"You'd better not be joking around!" she called through the phone, the irritation in her words faltering.

"Just trust me!"

She let out a weak and trembling sigh. "Ok." Eridan sprinted up the hill, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He crossed the street without even looking. Someone honked angrily at him, and he ignored them.

"Eridan?" The terror that warped her voice was not lost to him over the phone. "Eridan, there's something coming. Something dark...Eridan, I'm scared." He could hear her tears.

"Oh my god. Feferi, run!"

"What is it, Eridan? WHAT IS IT?"

"Just run away from it as fast as you can, ok? Just go!"

There was a huge thump, then a scream. Eridan stopped moving. "Feferi?" Eridan whispered.

Nothing.

The phone dropped out of Eridan's hand as he ran the rest of the way up the hill, turning on the street where Feferi had been. Her phone lay broken on the ground a few feet from the corner.

"No!" he screamed brokenly. "Feferi! Where are you?" A couple walking on the other side of the street turned to stare at him before quickening their pace. "She can't be gone!" He could feel the panic setting in. "Where is she?"

Something flickered at the edge of his vision, a shadow of some sort. It slithered up the street and vanished in the distance. He ran after it without thinking, following it as it led him out of town and up a dirt path that led towards the forest that surrounded the city. Tears stung his eyes as he struggled on. He failed to notice the darkening sky, the unnatural blue-grey hue that began covering the landscape, until he almost ran into it. He skidded to a halt.

"No..." he murmured. Eridan stared up at the pure black wall before him. He felt his heart stop. He had suspected that the story was true, but seeing it laid out before his eyes caused him new bouts of terror. Eridan scrambled backwards, frantically attempting to flee. An ink black arm shot through the wall, grabbing Eridan by the throat and pulling him through. The world faded into darkness.

_A/N: Short chapter! Only to be followed with... A REALLY LONG CHAPTER! Oh well. Hopefully, our inconsistency in chapter length doesn't make anyone totally rage quit this thing._


	6. Chapter 6

Eridan coughed, clutching his throat. He sat up, looking around wildly for the thing that had pulled him through, but whatever it was had decided to leave him for dead. His head ached, and his ears were ringing faintly. A sharp pain suddenly racked his body, settling in his sides, neck, and head. Eridan screamed and doubled over on the ground. It felt as if his neck and sides were being ripped open, while his head felt like something was driving stakes into his skull. Then, when the external pain was over, it moved inside. The blood coursing through his veins turned to acid, burning him incessantly. He felt his organs shifting and mutating inside of him. He tried to scream, but his vocal chords had been changed beyond usability.

After what seemed an eternity, the pain began to slowly ebb away. He shuddered as it left, leaving him sore and aching. He tried to sit up, but the swift movement caused a dangerous relapse in the pain. Spots danced in front of his eyes. Careful to turn his head slowly, he noticed a pool of water across the clearing. Slowly and painfully, he dragged himself towards it.

He paused mid-crawl, staring at the skin on his hands. It had become an ashen grey, his nails sharp and yellowed. He looked back at himself. His pants and shirt were dark grey, an ink black hooded cloak around his shoulders, and high black boots had replaced his worn out sneakers. Eridan began pulling himself faster, finally able to ignore the pain as he scrabbled to his feet and stumbled to the waters' edge.

He gawked at the wavering reflection, his own disbelief mirrored in the yellow eyes staring back at him. His black pupils darted across the water's surface to take in the image. His hair had darkened from its light brown to a hard, ebony black, and the stripe of his bangs that was normally bleached blonde had become a rich purple. Two orange hued horns now protruded from his head, undulating backwards like waves. Where his ears should have been, two small fins with thin purple membranes wavered back and forth.

"W-What is goin'-?! Ow!" he yelped, wincing as his own razor sharp teeth broke the skin of his lower lip. Eridan wiped his mouth, bringing his hand in front of his eyes to gauge how much he was bleeding. He stared at the wet smear in confusion. "My blood is... purple?" He shook his head, feeling a faint residual buzzing in his temples, an after effect of the painful transformation. Suddenly his eyes widened, staring forward with blank fear as a low growl echoed through the clearing. He spun around, raising his arms in front of his face in simultaneous defense and surrender.

An inky creature towered over him, it's face devoid of any features. Tiny, dark blue patterns raced across its skin. Its long fingers hooked into claws, back legs bent to spring. Rearing back, it let out a feral screech that made Eridan's blood freeze. It lurched forward, claws outstretched. Eridan screamed as he was hurled backwards into the water. The pain from the impact left him limp as he sank deeper. He blinked his eyes open, slowly coming to the realization that his lungs were still taking in air. There was a weird sensation in his neck and at his sides, as though something were being pulled through the skin and into his blood. He looked up and could see the creature standing by the pool, its blank face scanning the surface, as if there wasn't a layer of water separating them. Eridan clenched his teeth, temporarily ignoring the fact that he should not be able to breathe or see. He could feel anger bubbling in his blood. The water around him began to froth, churning madly. It receded from the edges of the pool, concentrating above him. The creature stepped back instinctively, bringing a mangled hand in front of itself for protection.

The water shot forward, knocking the creature to the ground and smothering it. Its desperate cries were muted by the wall of liquid. Eridan rose to the surface, spitting water out of his mouth. He watched as the creature writhed and struggled, before finally falling still.

Eridan slowly climbed out of the water, staring at the black figure. "I... I killed it?" he murmured aloud. The water fell away, slipping back into the pool. He watched it go fearfully. "How-w did I...?" He trailed off as the blue markings on the creature faded away and its body disintegrated into the ground. He looked from his hands to the water nervously. He remembered the sensation of something being pulled through his neck as he sank into the water. Slowly, Eridan brought his fingertips to the side of his neck, terrified of what he would find. He started at his jawline. _Still the same._ He walked his fingers down the side of his throat, and a sharp pain stabbed through his neck. "Ow!" he squeaked. More gently, he prodded the part of his neck that had caused him the pain. Something fluttered against his fingertips. Something that felt suspiciously like skin, but that wasn't fully connected to his neck. _Oh my god...that's not possible._ "I hawe gills?" Frantically, he tensed the other muscles in his body, searching for more. He felt partially detached skin brush against his sides. He pulled the bottom of his shirt up quickly, letting out a soft and garbled cry as he noticed another set of gills near the base of his ribs. "No, this isn't right... It can't-!"

Something moved in the forest behind him. He turned frantically, but couldn't see what it was. Desperate to avoid another confrontation, Eridan ran. His feet hit the water, and he dove under. He floated a few feet below the surface, waiting.

Another creature appeared, just barely inside Eridan's line of sight. He could see it with full clarity, even the small blue patterns racing across its skin. It stopped, seemed to be sniffing the air. Eridan didn't move. At last, the creature lowered its head and lumbered off.

Eridan stayed still for a few more moments, then allowed himself to float to the surface. He quickly looked around, ready to dive under the water again at the slightest suggestion of another creature. There was nothing. He swam to the shallow part of the pool and climbed out. A sharp wind kicked up, and Eridan reached behind him, searching for the hood he had noticed before. He found the edges and pulled the wet fabric over his head in a futile attempt to protect himself from the wind. Eridan blinked slowly, finally realizing how dark his surroundings were. Heavy shadows fell across the ground, the sky a murky indigo dotted with black clouds. Despite the darkness enveloping the area, he could see fairly well. With a tiny sigh, he chalked it up to the painful transformation.

He stared at the water, unwilling to leave the safety it afforded him and yet aware of the fact that he couldn't stay here much longer for fear of attracting another beast. A sudden, wild idea struck him, and he put a hand on the surface of the pool. He tried to sense if it went onward, further into the forest. Sure enough, there seemed to be a shallow river that traced through the trees on the other side of the pool. With a sigh of relief, Eridan slipped back into the water.

He followed the river for quite some time, never daring to check above the surface for more creatures. At last, the water became too shallow for him to swim, and he begrudgingly stepped out. He peered cautiously around the hood of his cloak, surveying the area for signs of a monster. A rustling behind and above him caught his attention. He fearfully took a step closer to the water, surveying the forest around him for whatever had made the noise. A flash of blue in the corner of his eye made him turn suddenly. The color vanished just before he saw red strands racing towards him. Fear settled into his bones, the water rushed up around him, and blue strands joined the red advancing on him. The strands sliced through the water with ease, binding his upper arms to his sides and wrapping around his neck. The water writhed around him as panic fell upon him in a thin veil. Eridan clawed at the strands, but his hands slipped through them uselessly. As they tightened around his throat, he let out a garbled scream. His whole body throbbed with his heartbeat, and sounds and vision slowly became indistinct. As he closed his eyes in defeat, the strands suddenly vanished, dissipating into the air. He fell to his knees, coughing and rubbing his neck.

"ED?" a voice hissed softly. Eridan looked around frantically. A figure dropped from a tree behind him. "ED, ith that you?" He felt his heart stop briefly before he spun around, recognizing the voice. "Oh my god," the boy murmured as he kneeled before Eridan, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him into a crushing hug.

"S-Sol?" Eridan gasped for breath, hitting the other boys' shoulder frantically.

He let go, holding Eridan at arms length. "Yeah, it'th me," he said quietly. "I'm tho glad I found you." Sollux's normally brunette hair was now black, four short but sharp horns curving upwards slightly, and his ears had sharpened into points. His ashen grey skin was tinted yellow on one patch of his arm. Eridan stared at it, then winced as he realized that it was probably a bruise. Sollux's glasses were missing, and his usually amber and blue eyes had become solid and pupil-less, one red and the other blue. His clothes were brown and covered in filth, clinging to his skin. "Did you jutht call me Thol?" Sollux asked, snickering.

Eridan paused. "I guess I did," he muttered. "You called me ED, though!"

"Jutht a quirk I got once I tranthformed. I gueth it'th the thame idea for yourth." Sollux shrugged faintly. "How are you holding up here in the Darkneth?"

The enormity of what had just happened hit Eridan. "You almost killed me!" he snapped.

Sollux smiled shyly, sharp and slightly crooked teeth bared. "You looked jutht like one of the creatureth! How wath I thuppothed to know?"

"W-What are you talkin' about?" Eridan stared at him for a moment. "I don't look anythin' like those aw-wful things! Sol, I could hawe died! How-w w-would you have felt then?" Sollux looked away. "You hawe to think, Sol."

Sollux looked up suddenly. "Are you...thtuttering?" he asked, the glint of a smile playing on his features.

"I...w-what?"

Before Eridan could say another word, Sollux erupted into a fit of giggles. "It'th jutht like the way you type! Becauthe of your thitty keyboard?" He snickered. "Look who'th got the annoying thpeech impediment now! Finally, I can be the one laughing at you!"

"W-Wait a minute," Eridan chimed in quickly. "Say 'should'."

"Why?" Sollux looked at him curiously.

"Just try it."

Sollux rolled his eyes. "Thould." Eridan tried to stifle his laughter. "What'th tho funny?"

"Your lisp got w-worse!"

"Oh thit..." Eridan laughed harder and Sollux tried to glare at him, but gave in and started laughing with him. Eridan grinned, his face heating up a bit. When Sollux's laughter finally died out, his features became more grave. "Theriouthly, though, how did you make yourthelf look like one of thothe Darkneth thingth?"

Eridan crossed his arms indignantly. "I honestly hawe no idea w-what you're talkin' about."

"Whatever." Sollux face was still hued with suspicion, but he shrugged, dropping the issue.

Eridan finally brought up what was on his mind. "You'we been gone for a w-week," he said softly.

"Becauth that'th when I wath taken. On the way to KK'th houthe," Sollux said, leaning back on his hands. Eridan cringed at the reminder, guilt setting in once more. "You weren't taken until..?" he trailed off.

"Earlier today," Eridan replied. "I w-was already attacked by one of the creatures."

"Are you hurt?" Sollux asked quickly, leaning forward with a flash of panic in his eyes.

"I'm alright. I managed to... To kill it..." he murmured.

Sollux leaned back again with a faint sigh. "Tho you learned what your 'power' or whatever wath?"

"I guess so," Eridan said with a shrug. "I think it's w-water."

"Thuch a detailed dethcripthion!" Sollux quipped sarcastically.

"Oh shut up, Sol!" He sighed exasperatedly. "I think that I can control w-water. W-where it goes and stuff."

Sollux's face became concentrated. "Tho how doeth that fit into your weird thapethifty thing?" Sollux thought for a minute, then gasped in realization. "ED! What if you can uthe the water to bend light? Tho that other people thee thomething different than what'th really there? Like a mirage?"

Eridan nodded slowly. "That makes sense, I guess. But I didn't mean to. How-w can I be doin' somethin' and not ewen know-w?"

Sollux shrugged indifferently. "You didn't mean to kill the monthter that attacked you, did you?"

"True," Eridan conceded.

"And I didn't mean to kill the firtht monthter I thaw, either. I think it'th kind of inthtinctual."

Eridan paused. "W-What is your pow-wer, anyw-way? Those... Strands?" he asked, cringing at the unpleasant memory.

"You mean thith?" He held out a hand and the red and blue strands began crackling around it. "It's called thionicth."

"Psionics?" Eridan watched the reds and blues dancing between Sollux's fingertips.

"Yeah, it'th thith thort of energy that I can control," he explained.

"Did you just come up w-with that name or somethin'?" Eridan asked blandly.

Sollux snorted. "Nope. The Helmthman told me it wath called thionicth."

"W-Who?"

"The Helmthman. He'th my mentor or thomething. I've only theen him once tho far." Sollux looked around slowly. "I'm thure you have one, too. VK told me that the had one."

"VK?" Eridan asked, more confusion settling in.

"Thome chick who liveth here in the Darkneth." Sollux shrugged. "The theemth to know a lot of thingth. It'th like the's got eyeth everywhere." Eridan raised one eyebrow skeptically in response. Sollux held up his hand, pointing at Eridan's forehead. The strands of light that had been circling his hand rocketed forward, shoving Eridan onto his back.

Eridan laughed, sitting up quickly. The sudden movement made the hood slip back off of his head. Sollux froze, his eyes locked on a point somewhere just to the right of Eridan. "W-What?" Eridan asked nervously, leaning back slightly and glancing over his shoulder fearfully in case a monster was approaching.

"They're finth..." Sollux said quietly as he leaned forward.

"W-What are you-!" Eridan yelped. Sollux stepped awkwardly close to him, running his fingers along the edges of Eridan's ears.

"They're finth!" he repeated with a smile, tapping the thin purple membranes gently. Eridan swatted his hands away harshly, stepping back and raising his hands defensively, eyes wide. Sollux watched him with concern. "Thit, did I, wait, did-!"

Eridan took a deep breath. "No, it's fine," he reassured Sollux, forcing himself to let his hands fall to his sides again. "I don't know-w w-what happened. I guess it startled me."

Sollux let a smirk tug at his lips. "You mean it thcared you?"

"I said startled, and I meant startled!" Eridan snapped back, struggling to contain a smile of his own. He took another deep breath before continuing. "It's like... W-When you touched them, the feelin' was amplified, or somethin'."

"Tho, let me get thith thraight," Sollux said, pointing at Eridan's ear-fins. "So, it't like the vibrationth were amplified?" Eridan gave him a half-hearted tilt of his head. "When I tapped them, it felt like getting punched in the head? Or at leatht thomething like that?" Eridan nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Tho I can punch you without actually punching you?"

"Hah hah, wery funny, Sol!" Eridan rolled his eyes and Sollux snickered quietly. Watching Sollux laugh, he felt the guilt that had plagued him for the past few days surface once more. "Hey, Sol?"

"Yeah, ED?" Sollux asked as he wiped his eyes, grin still dancing on his features.

"I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

Eridan wrung his fingers together. "For not beliewin' you. About the eyes w-watchin' you."

Sollux shrugged. "Don't be. I barely believed it too until I wath captured."

"No, really." Eridan shook his head. "If I'd just know-wn...I w-would hawe gone w-with you to Kar's. Maybe I could hawe done somethin'. I just–I should hawe been there, Sol. I should hawe been able to do somethin', and I didn't. I–"

"ED, pleathe. I don't blame you. For anything." Eridan smiled slightly.

"Really?"

"Really." Eridan's felt his guilt slowly dissipate. Sollux's face became grim. "Rumor hath it everyone'th been taken and that the Darkneth ith thpreading."

"Eweryone?" Eridan said, panicked. "That can't be true!" The memory of Feferi's disappearance flooded back.

"VK thayth that the'th theen the creatureth dragging in more kidth our age. Only a few of them have thtayed...humanoid, like uth. Everyone elthe endth up turning into one of those creatures..." Sollux said softly. Eridan felt his heart clench in pain as he imagined Feferi slowly transforming into one of those awful black monsters. _What if I never see her face again? _Sollux must have seen the distress on his face. "I'm thorry, I didn't mean to..." Sollux trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"It's alright, I'll be fine." Eridan turned away, hiding the single tear that slipped down his cheek. Sollux wandered away, giving Eridan some space. _Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths._ The thought hit him suddenly, forcing him to fall to the ground.

_What if I killed her? What if that...thing that I killed was her? Oh my god...Feferi..._

"Hey ED? There'th thomething coming." Sollux's voice cut through his thoughts, edged with the tremor of fear.

His sadness shattered in an instant, replaced by terror. _If it's one of those things, I don't think I can kill it. _Eridan ran to join Sollux. "W-what is it? A creature?" Sollux shook his head, pointing into the sky.

Eridan strained his eyes in an attempt to see through the near-tangible darkness. There seemed to be a darker smudge, getting nearer. "Can you thee what it ith?" Sollux whispered.

"No." Eridan paused. "I hawe an idea." Taking a deep breath, Eridan closed his eyes. _Alright water, you better be listening._ He tried to sense the water in the pool to his left. There it was. Focusing all of his energy on the water, he brought a thin stream up into the air, then spiraled it towards him. "I hope this w-works," he muttered under his breath. He forced the water to form into two small discs, then hovered them in front of his eyes. Sure enough, just as the image of the monster had become clearer when he had been under water, the dark smudge came into focus.

"It's a bird, sort of."

"What kind of bird?"

"The kind that's goin' to rip us apart w-with it's giant claw-ws and beak."

"Wonderful. How fatht ith it coming?"

"W-well, I'd imagine that it'll be here in the next tw-wo minutes."

Sollux sighed and turned to Eridan. "You, get into the water. I'm gonna try thomething The Helmthman taught me." Eridan nodded, obeying only because his mind was partially shut down from fear.

The instant his feet touched the water, though, he felt safer. His breathing slowed to its normal rate. He couldn't fathom why he'd been so scared before. He turned to make sure Sollux was ok. Instead of finding the familiar outline of the boy, he found a large field of red and blue light flaring up in a small oval. As Eridan watched, struck motionless, the orb slowly rose into the air until it was floating about twenty feet up. Then the light flickered and died away, revealing Sollux, each of his hands encased in a sphere of red or blue light.

"Yeth! I'm not dead!" Sollux crowed victoriously. He smirked and waved cockily at Eridan. Eridan blinked, breaking out of his shock to wave back.

An inhuman screech ripped through the air. Eridan instinctively bent his legs, and his hands shot out to the side, twin streams of water rising behind them. Sollux pointed a hand at the bird, now only thirty feet away. A beam of red light snaked towards it.

Something moved in the water behind Eridan. He whipped around, his water crushing together at the source of the movement. As the water fell away, Eridan saw a glowing figure rise out of the foam.

"That wasn't very nice." The voice was counterintuitively high pitched compared with the rather ominous appearance of the figure. There was something strange about the way the man spoke as well, but Eridan couldn't quite put his finger on it. Before Eridan could reply, the man shot a thin, precise stream of water at his chest. It pierced through him, and Eridan felt it slice through his heart. "Surprise," the figure whispered as the world slowly darkened.


	7. Chapter 7

Eridan groaned, a dull ache running through his head. He looked up with bleary eyes, noticing the small island of land he was on. The water around him lapped at his feet and hands. He sat up, exactly in the middle of the little island. "Finally up, kid?" a voice called lazily. Eridan felt a chill down his spine as he recognized the voice from earlier. He looked up, seeing a figure reclining idly on another thrust of land.

"W-Who are you?" Eridan growled. The man had black boots that rose to his knees, covering the bottoms of pants so dark purple, they were almost black. His purple short sleeved shirt clung to his frame, a black diamond covered his stomach, and a zigzag pattern crossed his chest. Two ragged and purple hued scars marred his face, from his left ear-fin to the right side of his jaw. His black hair was slicked back around horns that mimicked Eridan's. He grinned, exposing his shark-like teeth.

"Me?" the man asked innocently. He extended his index finger, and a small, neat orb of water rose to meet it. His finger moved in slow, lethargic circles. Eridan watched as the little orb turned into a stream and formed a circle above the man. "I'm the Orphaner," he continued, smirking, "and your teacher." Eridan laughed.

"You? W-what could you possibly teach me? You're too lazy to ewen bother standin' up." Orphaner shot him a glare.

"And just what were you plannin' to do in that battle? You don't know anythin' about controllin' your power." The man's voice was nasally but imperial, and Eridan finally pinpointed what he had noticed before. Orphaner placed too much emphasis on w's and v's, adding to his infuriating eccentricity. "You and your boyfriend would have been dead in seconds."

Eridan growled deep in his throat. "He's not my boyfriend." The water rose around him and rocketed forward towards Orphaner.

Before it even reached him, Eridan's water burst into small droplets, raining down around them in a fine mist. Orphaner laughed and walked across the surface of the water towards Eridan. "You honestly think you can beat me? With no trainin'? Please." He smiled condescendingly, laughter still in his voice. Eridan was thrown into the water savagely. The vibrations reached his ear-fins before he even noticed Orphaner above him, slapping the water impatiently to get his attention. Suddenly, the water around Eridan tightened, pinning his arms down and locking his ankles together. He shot out of the water, still bound by a thin veil of liquid. "You really are a pest, you know that? How am I supposed to teach you if you don't stop squirmin'?" Orphaner said, shaking his head.

"You kidnapped me! Do you think that I'll just trust you now-w?" Eridan shouted.

"Well, yeah. I did. And yes, I do." Orphaner shrugged. "It's part of the job description."

"Ewen if I did trust you, it w-won't matter. It w-won't matter at all, even if you teach me everything you know. You know why? Because you _left Sollux to die!_"

"Ooh, someone's so angry they're revertin' to human speech. I'm so scared." Eridan lunged forward at Orphaner, a futile effort from inside the Orphaner's prison. "Look, kid. Your boyfriend is gonna be just fine. Now, as for you, you need some serious help. That's why I needed to bring you here."

"I already told you, he's not my boyfriend! And how-w do you know-w he'll be ok? He could be dyin' this wery minute, and it's not as if you care! How-w can you know-w?!"

"Because time doesn't pass here, stupid."

Eridan felt his breath hitch in his throat. If that was true, and time didn't pass, Sollux would be safe. But the odds of that were slim. Every bit of reasoning screamed at him that Orphaner was lying, only toying with him and his emotions. But something else much deeper inside him dared to whisper that Orphaner might be telling the truth. That even if he wasn't, believing that he was was the only way to believe that Sollux was still alive. _I can't just let myself believe this moron. He hasn't done anything at all to deserve that_. _But, what about Sollux? _If he didn't trust him, would he be able to learn from him and get back?

Eridan sighed. _I hope you know what you're doing, Eridan. I hope that Sollux is ok. I hope..._ Eridan's thought trailed off into a desperate plea to whatever might be listening.

"Ok...w-whatewer. I'll beliewe you for now-w." Stating it out loud seemed to solidify his resolve. Orphaner smirked. There was a moment of awkward silence before Eridan continued. "W-where are w-we, anyw-way?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Orphaner laughed. "Nowhere, anywhere, doesn't matter. What matters is that I teach you how to control your powers. I bet you've been usin' them without even knowin', haven't you?"

"Yeah, and it w-was w-workin' just fine until you came along," Eridan growled.

"But for how much longer? What's goin' to happen to your little psionic boyfriend if you keep that up?" Orphaner hissed close to Eridan's ear-fin. "What happens when he startles you and you do the same thing as with the first creature?" A smirk warped Orphaner's features. "What happens when you kill him?"

"Shut up!" Eridan screamed, thrashing in his watery prison. "I'd newer-!"

"Then learn!" Orphaner disassembled the prison, throwing Eridan back onto the patch of land. Eridan instantly sprang up to his feet, the water churning around the island. "Oh please, calm down, kid." Orphaner waved his hand lazily. "No fights this time. I'm bored of your incessant stupidity. Besides, I think you'll like this one," he added with a smirk. A stream of water rose towards his hand, quickly taking the shape of a spear. "You should probably learn this first, anyways."

Eridan mimicked Orphaner without thinking, drawing up his own stream of water. "Is there a name for w-whatewer this is?"

"Nope."

"You're lame."

"You're lamer. You can't even solidify the water."

"W-wait, w-what?" Eridan asked in confusion.

Orphaner sighed and rolled his eyes. He brought more water to his other hand. "Yours looks like this. It's still plain old water."

"Of course it's still w-water, idiot! W-what else w-would it be?!"

"You're missin' the point!" Orphaner said exasperatedly. "Concentrate on it, imagine it becomin' somethin' solid, like rock or ice." Orphaner clenched his fist, and the water near his hand suddenly froze.

Eridan stared intently at his own spear of water for a few moments, trying to focus. It squirmed and twisted under his gaze. Orphaner threw both of his spears back into the water, laughing at Eridan's incompetence.

Eridan grinned as the water slowly solidified. He gently picked it up, feeling that it was slightly firmer than before. "I think-!" Eridan stopped as the water fell apart, streaming back into the pool.

"Again!" Orphaner yelled. Eridan struggled for a moment before the water became more solid, then fell apart just as the other had. "And again!" He took a deep breath and cleared his mind. The water rose quietly, freezing the moment he touched it. Orphaner smiled faintly. "Now, throw it."

"What?" Eridan gaped.

"Are you deaf? I said throw it!" Orphaner rolled his eyes. Eridan lobbed the spear at him with a scowl. Orphaner caught it lazily, twirling it in his hands. "Good. You managed to aim it properly, though I'd be surprised if you know that you did. Do it again! But this time, make the spear smaller." He cast the first weapon aside. Eridan threw the next spear and Orphaner deflected it to his left. "Now, remember what it felt like to throw it?" Eridan nodded. "Throw it without movin' your arm."

"You'we got to be jokin'," Eridan said blandly.

"No jokes, kid," he said with a shrug. "Get it right at least once and I'll send you back to help your boyfrie-!" Orphaner paused, his fingers instinctively gripping the handle of a new weapon as he noticed the tip of a thin spear stop just a hairs' breadth away from his eye. Eridan glowered at him, arms folded in annoyance. "Well, I think you might have it, kid." He smirked as he snapped the spear between his fingers. "Not bad for an idiot. Go help your boyfriend out." Orphaner half-waved at him, partially in farewell and partially in dismissal, and Eridan glanced around nervously as the world began to fade.

Eridan opened his eyes quickly, looking around himself. A flash of psionics tore through the air near his head. Something was wrong.

"What the fuck are you doing, ED?!" Sollux shouted. He felt wind rushing past him. Eridan glanced down, finally realizing that he hadn't been returned to the water. He was about a hundred feet in the air and falling fast. A stream of curses escaped his lips as he struggled to focus on the water below him. His fear aiding him, the water rushed up and caught him.

A screech ripped through the sky, penetrating even through the water to reach Eridan's ear-fins. He saw the bird creature careen backwards, sparking with red energy. Sollux was shaking, the psionics that were holding him up flickering dangerously. _I have to help!_ He forced himself to the surface of the pillar of water until he was standing, then made it rise beneath him, pushing him up to Sollux's altitude. The bird rushed towards them again, talons outstretched. _I've only got one shot_, he thought to himself as a stream of water rose near his hand. _Imagine it._ He clenched his fist, closing his eyes as the water turned to ice. _Now, throw it!_

His eyes flashed open, the spear hurtling through the air. It sank deep into the bird's chest. The creature screeched, its wing flapping frantically as it fell to the ground below.

"Hey, ED, that wath pretty..." Sollux's garbled voice trailed off, his eyes closing and his psionics fading away.

"Sol!" Eridan yelled, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the water pillar. Sollux began sinking into it. "Damn it," Eridan muttered, forcing the water beneath Sollux to solidify. Eridan carefully allowed the water to flood back into the stream, lowering both boys to the ground. "Sol? Sol, are you alright?" Eridan asked, panic lacing his voice as he laid Sollux gently on the ground.

Sollux let out a weak laugh, his eyes opening halfway. "I'm fine, ED, I jutht need to retht... The Helmthman warned me about uthing my thionicth too much in one go." He sighed, twitching his fingers slowly. "No damage, jutht tired..." he trailed off, his eyes shutting. Eridan stared at Sollux, panic tainting the edges of his consciousness for a moment before he realized Sollux was just asleep. He shook his head and pulled Sollux up onto his back, wrapping the scrawny boys arms around his neck and his legs around Eridan's waist. Eridan slipped into the water, making sure that Sollux's head stayed above the surface, and followed the current.


	8. Chapter 8

When Eridan couldn't swim any longer, he left the water, panting, and collapsed on the ground with Sollux still draped over him. He froze, hearing a soft groan from behind him.

"Where am I...?" Sollux murmured. Suddenly, Sollux scrambled away from Eridan, his face flushed yellow. "E-ED?!" he yelped. "What, why wath, I didn't, thit!" He buried his face in his hands.

Eridan couldn't help but smile. "Calm down," he laughed. "You fell asleep after the last fight, so I carried you here."

Sollux peered out from between his fingers tentatively, then slowly lowered his hands. "Where ith here?" he asked, leaning back as he surveyed the area. Eridan paused, looking around slowly. Tiny bits of light drifted through the clearing, bursting gently as they landed on the grass only to be replaced by more floating unrelentingly out of the sky. A huge tree towered over them, its rustling leaves casting soft, dappled shadows over the ground. The clearing was surrounded by a high wall of stone, the stream weaving lazily through the grass offering the only way through.

"I don't know-w..." Eridan murmured. "I just follow-wed the riwer."

Sollux ran his hands over the grass, smiling faintly. "I like it here... It'th not dark..."

"I didn't ewen realize that." Eridan strained to see over the rock wall. The sky was nearly black in comparison to the mellow light illuminating the clearing.

"Maybe..." Sollux trailed off, slowly getting to his feet. "Thith plathe...ith thtill thafe? Like thome thort of...I don't know, thacred plathe?"

"I think you're right," Eridan said, smiling as he stood. Sollux grinned and fell backwards onto the grass. Eridan laughed softly, moving a little ways off before settling down in the grass once more. "It's w-wonderful here..."

Sollux let out soft sigh. "It'th nithe to jutht lay here like thith..." Eridan looked over at him with concern, hearing the hint of sadness in his voice. "I uthed to do thith with... with AA..."

"AA?" Eridan muttered. "Oh, Ar?" Sollux nodded slowly. "Sorry..."

Sollux shook his head, and stayed silent for a moment, glancing at Eridan with an odd expression. "I bet the wath taken too, wathn't the?" he commented. Eridan hesitated, turning away. "You were the latht one captured. You know who elth wath taken, don't you?" His voice was nearly a whisper.

"Gam w-was first I think. After that, you disappeared and then Ar..." He swallowed nervously. "Then Tav and Rez... and then Kar and..." He didn't have the heart to finish.

"FF?" Eridan nodded quickly, rolling onto his side to hide his face. _And you couldn't save any of them,_ his mind whispered at him. "And then you?" Sollux stared up at the sky for a while longer. Eridan finally composed himself and turned to face Sollux.

"How-w do w-we fix this?"

Sollux glanced at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, how-w do w-we get rid of the Darkness?"

"I... I don't know yet... The Helmthman thaid that a methenger would come, that thomeone would help uth dethtroy the Darkneth..." Sollux sat up and buried his face in his hands. "I jutht don't know who."

"Did he say w-where w-we'd find this guy? Because my teacher isn't goin' to be any help. That lazy son of a-."

"You met your teacher?" Sollux interrupted. "When?"

"The last fight. He kidnapped me right before the bird attacked. Shot a bolt of w-water through my chest. I thought I w-was dead. Then he dropped me out of the sky!" Eridan said with a flourish of his hands. "He calls himself The Orphaner." Eridan made childish faces as he said the name.

Sollux snickered. "Well, he'th more polite about capture than my teacher, that'th for thure."

"You're jokin'."

"Not at all," Sollux laughed. "In fact, he'th due to come get me again anytime. Jutht wait, the Orphaner will theem like a thaint in comparithon." Eridan laughed with him for a while. Finally, Sollux sighed. "We thould go, ED."

Eridan sighed. "You're probably right." He got to his feet slowly and headed for the water.

"Wait... We have to thwim out?" Sollux asked nervously.

Eridan looked back in confusion, his feet already in the water. "W-Well, yeah. That's how-w w-we got in." He noticed the blatant discomfort painting Sollux's face. "W-why? W-What's the matter?"

Sollux shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I gueth thith it'th good time to tell you...I can't thwim."

Eridan's shoulders slumped and his jaw fell. "You can't..." Eridan snickered, and a grin stretched his features. He laughed, clutching his stomach and falling backward into the water. He continued laughing, clouds of bubbles escaping his lips as he sank deeper. Slowly, he forced himself to float to the surface, still racked with tremors of giggles.

Sollux folded his arms defensively across his chest, the tips of his ears burning a bright yellow. "Thut up!" Eridan grinned, finally waving for Sollux to come towards the water. "What?"

"Come on," Eridan called, wiping a final laughter-induced tear from his cheek. "I'm goin' to hawe to carry you. Again." He couldn't stop the smirk that crossed his face. Sollux opened his mouth to protest, but quickly shut it, walking nervously to the water's edge. Eridan grabbed his wrist, pulling him into a shallow section of the river.

"ED!" Sollux screamed in pure terror, flailing wildly the moment he hit the surface of the water.

Eridan rolled his eyes, picking him up by his armpits. "W-What are you doin'?"

Sollux looked away, frowning. "I thought you were going to drown me..." he muttered.

Eridan shook his head and lowered Sollux to his feet, leaving him only knee deep. "You honestly thought I w-would drow-wn you?" he asked, pulling Sollux's arms over his shoulders. Sollux nodded faintly, not moving. Eridan sighed dramatically. "W-ell w-what are you w-waitin' for, Sol, an inwitation? Get your legs up so I can carry you or you're goin' to strangle me." Sollux reluctantly jumped, allowing Eridan to catch his knees. Eridan felt Sollux tense as soon as he walked into deeper water. He felt a small pang of guilt as Sollux's breathing became erratic. "Calm dow-wn, Sol!" Eridan hissed as Sollux's arms tightened around his neck. "You're goin' to suffocate me!" he lied, feeling the gills in his sides taking in water through his shirt. Sollux relaxed slightly, still obviously terrified.

Eridan let the water reach his shoulders before following the current once more. Slowly, he sensed Sollux calming down, his muscles relaxing as he rested his chin between Eridan's horns. Eridan rolled his eyes again, smiling slightly. He walked slowly, moving into deeper water in tiny increments. Sollux hardly noticed until the water lapped at his chin. He glanced down, noticing that all but Eridan's horns were submerged, and held on a little tighter, lifting his head safely out of the water. Eridan smiled, blowing randomly sized bubbles as he pleased. He could hear Sollux's slightly uncomfortable snicker above the surface and grinned.

"ED..." Sollux hissed suddenly, ducking down so that his chin was on Eridan's head again and hitting Eridan's shoulder urgently with his knuckles. Eridan rose above the water and looked around quickly. "Over there..." Sollux whispered, pointing to a thatch of trees near the river bank. "Get me to that." Eridan nodded silently, stifling his confusion and keeping to the deep water until he reached the shore. Sollux grabbed the dirt and Eridan sunk deeper, grabbing Sollux's feet and shoving him out of the water. Eridan drifted to the other side of the river and looked towards the trees. He saw a tiny spark of red and blue, sighing with relief as he noted Sollux's location.

"Nepeta, please, we should... Keep moving..." a low, quavering voice called. Eridan waited, bubbles of water rising around him slowly as he shifted into a better position. An outline came into slight focus: a tall, muscular figure with greasy shoulder-length hair, one horn shaped like an arrow and the other broken to a jagged stump.

"But Equius!" a higher, feminine voice called back as a second person stepped into his line of sight. She was small, her horns looked like cat ears, and her hair was short and messy. "Can't we stay here awhile longer?" She bounded in excited circles around the boy, Equius, laughing. With no warning she stopped, dropping to all fours and sniffing the air. "Someone's here," she said in a sing-song voice. "Someone dangerous." Eridan's eyes widened as he watched the girl's limbs shortened, fur sprouting from her body as her clothes melted into her skin. Within a few seconds, she had morphed into a large, white and grey tiger-like creature. The boy stood straighter and rolled his shoulders, cracking his knuckles slowly. Eridan looked to the trees quickly for any sign of Sollux. Another tiny spark of psionics burst amongst the leaves.

The tiger lunged forward and was instantly thrown back in a flash of blue. The boy started toward Sollux only to halt abruptly, his eyes locked on a ring of water around his head. Eridan took a deep breath, forcing the water to shatter into needles of ice and rocket forward. Equius ducked down, rolling backwards and watching the ice crystals fall to the ground. His gaze shot towards the river. Eridan had risen to the surface, the water spiralling menacingly around him. He caught a glimpse of Sollux before the tiger caught his side with her paw, sending him skidding across the ground and into a tree.

"Sol!" he screamed, the water raging beneath his feet. Torrents flooded the ground, instantly turning to ice and trapping the boy's feet and the tiger's paws. The boy looked down, frowning slightly, as the tiger thrashed against its bonds.

Suddenly, the tiger transformed into the girl again. The girl struggled to remove her now-thinner wrists and ankles. "Equius!" she shouted. The boy ignored her, striding forward. The ice broke the moment he moved. Eridan began panicking, and a spear formed beside him. It launched forward only to be caught and crushed between the boys' powerful hands. "Equius, wait! They're not enemies!" The boy stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the girl again. She had freed her hands and was gesticulating wildly. "I can smell it now! I thought it was hostility, but it wasn't! It was curiosity! And fear! They aren't enemies!"

Sollux groaned from against the trunk of a tree. Eridan ignored all instincts, running from the river and past Equius. He dropped to his knees beside Sollux who was clutching his arm to his side. Sollux's eyes were unfocused. "Sol! Sol, can you hear me?"

Sollux blinked slowly, squinting. "ED?" He shook his head slighlty. His eyes seemed to find Eridan's face. A sudden panic appeared in his face. "Oh my god, ED, are you ok? I heard you thout, and...are you hurt?" Eridan stared at him, slack jawed.

"I'm fine. But I'm the one w-who should be w-worryin' about you. You're the one that got throw-wn into a tree."

Sollux frowned. "Oh yeah...I forgot." He tried to move, and his face contorted with pain. "Jerk..." he muttered, looking at the girl and lowering his hand to reveal an already yellow bruise, but none of the cuts that should have been there. "Thoftpaw even when it ith an enemy?" Eridan looked at the girl in confusion.

She smiled sheepishly. "I didn't mean to hit so hard. But I didn't smell it until you got close. The best I could do was not claw you to ribbons!"

"Nepeta..." Equius said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Do you know these two?"

"Not at all," she stated plainly. He started to speak, but she interrupted him. "I didn't notice until I was close to him. But he stills smells like the people from the city. You know, the one outside the Darkness. Just a bit, though." She glanced at Eridan, frowning slightly. "He's too soggy to tell for sure, but I'd bet he's from the outside, too!" Eridan balked indignantly, earning a snicker from Sollux. "As you purr-obably guessed, my name's Nepeta! And this is Equius," she said. Eridan stared at Equius for a moment, finally noticing what had been bothering him. On Equius' ashen grey skin, dark blue patterns flitted about like those on the creatures.

Sollux raised his hand and nodded. "I'm Thollucth Captor. Ecthcuthe the lithp," he added with a toothy grin. "And thith ith ED."

"Eridan," Eridan corrected.

Nepeta paused in thought. "What's your last name?"

"Ampora."

She laughed. "Alright, Paw-lux and Am-purr-a. What are you guys doing out here in the woods?"

Eridan watched her for a moment. Something about her face was familiar. He searched his mind for a minute before disregarding the strange feeling. "W-We could ask you tw-wo the same thing," Eridan quipped. Sollux staggered to his feet and walked a bit closer to Equius, watching the blue patterns. "Sol, w-what are you-?"

"You're from the Darkneth, aren't you?" he asked.

Equius took a half-step back, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion and concern. "How...?"

Sollux smirked. "You're not the firtht I've met." Eridan gawked in confusion. Sollux glanced over his shoulder and waved Eridan to his side. "You thaw the patternth, right? VK hath thethe too."

Nepeta smiled. "You noticed? He's been helping me out since I've been here."

"Nepeta," Equius said as he backed away from Sollux, slowly waving towards the deeper parts of the forest. "We should keep moving..." She nodded and trounced into the undergrowth. Equius turned to stare at the others, wiping the gathering sweat from his brow. "I suppose you two may follow as well..."

Sollux nodded, but Eridan looked back at river with fear in his eyes. Equius started following Nepeta and Sollux quickly grabbed Eridan's arm, dragging him along. Eridan whimpered slightly, and Sollux laughed. "You'll be fine, ED." His face became more serious, earnest. "I promithe. Nothing ith going to happen." Eridan took a final look at the river, eyes filled with longing, then nodded hesitantly, sighing in defeated acceptance as he allowed Sollux to lead him after the others.


	9. Chapter 9

Nepeta bounced through the forest, her feet making almost no noise as she chattered softly to Equius. Sollux trudged ahead of Eridan who lagged slightly. He glanced at the trees and plants nervously. The grass was becoming withered and dry, the trees becoming mangled and sickly. "Sol?" he whispered. Sollux jolted as if he had been deep in thought. He glanced at Eridan over his shoulder, and for a moment Eridan thought he saw embarrassment written on his friend's face. It disappeared nearly instantly, and Eridan decided he must have imagined it. "Somethin's wrong."

"Like what?" Sollux asked as he looked around, avoiding making eye contact with Eridan.

"There's no w-water."

Sollux's strange mood was broken as he laughed. "It'th fine, ED. You're not gonna die."

"No, I mean in the plants. Ewerythin's..." Eridan paused in search for the words. "Ewerythin's dyin'."

Nepeta spun around to look at them. "So I'm not the only one who's seeing it," she murmured. She rested her hand on the trunk of a gnarled tree gently and sighed. The hint of a memory raced through Eridan's mind as she did, but was gone before he could catch it. "It's like the deeper into the forest we go, the more the plants start to dry up."

"Maybe it's because w-we're gettin' aw-way from the riwer. W-We could alw-way's go back and-! Ow!" Eridan yelped as Sollux punched his arm, ensuring him a small purple bruise.

Sollux thought for a moment. "Tho thomething'th cutting off the foretht'th water thupply...it'th like thomething'th killing off the foretht from the inthide." Eridan watched Equius wipe the sweat from his face as he glanced around quickly.

"Eq, w-why don't you tell us w-what you think." Eridan folded his arms across his chest, still irritable over leaving the water. "You're bein' really quiet about all of this." Hostility practically dripped from his words.

"ED, what are you doing?" Sollux hissed quietly. "He'th on our thide!"

Eridan growled low in his throat at Sollux before turning back to Equius. "You're a resident of the Darkness, aren't you? You should hawe been the first to see somethin' w-was w-wrong w-with the trees and the plants."

Nepeta looked at Equius worriedly as he clenched his fists angrily. Sollux glared at Eridan. Equius's muscles flexed threatingly, then relaxed in defeat. He looked around slowly, as if searching for his words. Finally, he sighed quietly, standing tall and looking Eridan in the eye. "I have... noticed that the forest was..." he paused, hand ritualistically wiping yet more sweat from his brow, "not the same anymore." Eridan shot him a prying glance before looking at the trees again. After another excruciating pause, Equius added almost inaudibly, "I know... why it has grown so ill." Sollux opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it when Eridan glared at him. "I did not want to mention it because... I was afraid... Nepeta would attempt to right the situation. I did not wish... for any harm to befall her."

"Equius, you should have said something anyways!" Nepeta said with a pouting frown. "I wouldn't have run off on my own!" She stopped, looking contrite. "Well, maybe I would have...but still!"

Sollux waved his hand at her, signalling her to be quiet. "Tho, what ith it?" Sollux asked.

"It's been known as... Dioraka." Equius said quietly.

"You took the time to name the thing?" Sollux pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head slightly.

Equius' lip pulled back in a faint snarl. "It has always been known as Dioraka!" he growled.

Sollux took a defiant step towards him, daring Equius to move. Equius' hands curled into fists once again. "Enough, both of you!" Eridan barked, pulling Sollux away. Sollux gasped slightly as Eridan grabbed him, and pulled his arm away awkwardly. Nepeta patted Equius arm gently, smiling as he slowly calmed down. "W-What do you mean by alw-ways?"

"Dioraka... is a beast from... our world..." Equius gestured to himself vaguely. "After the throne was overtaken... by..." he paused, straining to find the words he needed. "After the throne was overtaken... The Darkness spread to this place... The Overworld, as we call it... When that happened... The beasts escaped..."

Nepeta began bouncing on the balls of her feet anxiously. "Wait, the beasts? Plural? More than one got out?"

Equius continued wiping the sweat from his face. "Yes... Several went... missing..."

"Like w-what?" Eridan asked slowly.

"Well... Dioraka and Fyrin... were the first to... vanish..." Equius paused, his fingers curling and uncurling as he thought. "Melgrik also... disappeared... As did Rankort and Stargenil. I am... unaware of the condition... of Argerant..."

Sollux simply stared with his mouth agape. Nepeta seemed to be trying to memorize the names. Eridan just shook his head with a mild frown. "Eq, I hawe no idea w-what you're talkin' about w-with all these names."

Equius wiped his forehead with the back of his hand nervously. "They are all... creatures... who used to live in our land..." Eridan nodded faintly. A queasy feeling rose uncomfortably about him.

"Tho," Sollux spoke up, "thith Dioraka ith rethponthible for the foretht dying?"

"I believe... You are correct in that assumption..." Equius said, glancing disapprovingly at Sollux before looking back at Eridan.

"Well, let's go then!" Nepeta said, pointing into the trees. "We can't let it keep destroying the forest!" She folded her arms over her chest and frowned. "I don't care if this is the Darkness or the Overworld anymore! We need to go get it!" Equius looked at her nervously, wiping more sweat from his brow.

"W-why should w-we? It's just a forest. W-what's the w-worst that could happen from one forest dyin'?"

"The'th right," Sollux muttered. Eridan turned to respond but Sollux glared at him. "Ath long ath we're thtuck here, we thould try to help."

"This isn't our w-world anymore. W-why does it matter?"

Sollux spun on his heel and walked toward Eridan, leaning close to the other boy's face. "Lithten," he growled, "I don't want to hear it from you. Do you think I like being thtuck in thith body? Do you think I like thith plathe, dark all the time? No, I don't. And I don't think you do either, ED. Tho we have to find a way to make the Darkneth go back to where it came from." Eridan opened his mouth to retort, but Sollux cut him off. "Don't you want to find FF?" Eridan felt his heart sink at the mention of her name. "Then you'll help,"he hissed quietly before stepping back. Eridan stared at him accusatorily, silently wondering how he could be so cruel. Sollux's eyes widened in realization at what he'd done. His face clouded with guilt, and he turned abruptly. "Where ith thith thing, EQ?"

"If my observations are... correct... It should not be far from... our current location..."

"Let's go!" Nepeta called, bounding through the trees. Equius quickly followed after her. Sollux motioned for Eridan to go ahead, and Eridan didn't question it. Nepeta paused occasionally, sniffing the air and correcting their direction. Sollux panted quietly as he strained to keep up. Eridan glanced over his shoulder at him, a tiny pang of guilt tugging at him. Sollux seemed, once again, to be deep in thought. It looked almost as if he were struggling with something. Eridan opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but before he could voice the question Sollux had come back to reality. Eridan's concern vanished as Sollux smirked and nearly tripped him with his psionics. He snarled at Sollux jokingly before he almost ran into Equius.

"Nepeta," Equius said hurriedly. "I think... we are close..." She nodded, her expression hard and serious.

"W-We should rest before w-we get there," Eridan spoke up. Equius paused and Nepeta looked at them thoughtfully.

"You know, Am-purr-a, you're purr-obably right." She sniffed around the area. "It's safe here. For now at least."

Sollux leaned heavily on a tree. "Why? Thoudn't we-?" he trailed off, panting. "Thouldn't we keep going?" Sollux coughed violently, clutching his stomach. Eridan watched him nervously. "The thooner we find thith thing, the thooner we can... What are we doing onthe we find it?"

"Well... it would be best if we could simply... capture it." Equius folded his arms across his chest. "But after being... free in this world for so long... it will have grown... fond of its power here. I do not think that capture will... be an option. I fear we will... have to..." Equius trailed off with a slightly pained expression.

"Destroy it," Eridan muttered. "But if w-we don't rest w-while w-we hawe the chance, w-we're doomed w-when w-we do fight this thing."

"There's no way to capture it?" Nepeta asked, wringing her hands anxiously. "Are you sure we have to destroy it?"

Equius paused before tensing up. "Yes... we will have to destroy it... Dioraka has been free for... too long... Capture will not be... possible." Equius trailed off, looking away from the group.

"How do you know tho much about thethe thingth?" Sollux asked, his breath still labored. Nepeta slapped his arm, giving him a warning look. Sollux scowled at her, then realized too late what her signal had meant.

Equius slowly turned to face them again. Something in his face had changed, broken. It was only there for an instant before his usual, awkward calm returned. "I was their... guardian," he stated simply. He seemed to have something more to say, but did not continue.

Nepeta cleared her throat, ending the conversation. Eridan stared at her for a moment, still plagued by a memory he couldn't quite find. Finally something clicked in the back of his mind. Images of a Missing Person banner on his email flashed through his head. "You're the missing girl!" Sollux looked at him for a moment before hitting himself in the face.

"The'th here! Of courthe the went mithing, thtupid!" Under his breath, so just Eridan could hear, Sollux added, "Way to thow EQ how much you care about hith dilemma."

Eridan scowled at him before looking back at Nepeta. "I remember seein' the notice that a girl w-was missin'. It w-was you. You w-were alw-ways w-with a cat." Eridan blinked. "Oh. Cats. I get it now-w. Because your pow-wer..." he trailed off. The other three stared at him as if he were insane and, more hurtful, insensitive. He swallowed, motioning for Nepeta to continue.

She sat on the ground and leaned against a tree. "We'll stay here for a while, then," she announced decisively. "We can take turns on look out."

Eridan's hand shot up as if he were in preschool. "I'll take first w-watch!"

"No you won't! You jutht want to thneak back to the river! Thorry to burtht your bubble, but that'th not happening, ED." Sollux glared at him as if he should be ashamed for even suggesting it before he seemed to second guess his anger, allowing it to flow out of him. Eridan crossed his arms bitterly, sighing in defeat.

"I shall... take the first watch...I suppose..." Equius muttered. Sollux smirked before sprawling unceremoniously on the ground. Eridan sat beside him, trying to nudge Sollux out of the way. After a minute, the psionic groaned and purposefully scooted closer before punching Eridan in the leg lightly.

"Knock it off, Sol," Eridan muttered sullenly, finally lying down. "Get some rest w-while you still can."

Begrudgingly, Sollux rolled onto his side, allowing Eridan a few inches of space. Eridan laughed under his breath before closing his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: As if chapter 6 wasn't long enough... We bring you an even longer one! We have reasons (or so we claim) for this madness. But finally... UPD4T3!_

_The ground was a dark black pit, oozing and bubbling around him. It stretched on for an eternity in every direction. There was no one else in sight. Despite Eridan's usual comfort in water, something wasn't right about this liquid. It sucked him down into it greedily, sapping his energy when he tried to move. Laboriously, he toiled on._

_The sky above him flashed white, blinding him. He shielded his eyes with a grime-caked arm. A high-pitched ringing filled his ears as he felt his sense of balance evaporate. He felt the thick liquid stealing up around him. He writhed, trying desperately to break its grasp on him. With horrible finality, his head was submerged. He breathed in sharply, felt his lungs fill with the darkness._

_He felt himself falling. For an age, he seemed to be plummeting, spinning wildly in the air with no control. The scream he tried to sound was ripped from his lips before he could complete it. He closed his eyes, praying that the end would be quick._

_He hit something hard._

_After a few moments, it finally registered that he was not dead. He sat up a bit. His hands rested on cold, hard stone floor. He was in a small room. The ceiling was only just high enough to stand. The wall farthest from him was made entirely of intimidating steel bars. As he tried to clamor to his feet, he realized with a twinge of annoyance that one of his ankles was restricted by a manacle with a strange symbol on it. The manacle was welded to the floor irremovably, and around the spot were more strange runes._

_Humiliated by the thought of laying helplessly on his stomach in this cell, he maneuvered himself into a position where he could sit fully upright, painfully but still effectively._

_A light outside the cell flickered, casting the world temporarily in darkness. When the light was restored, a girl was standing outside. She was as far away from him as she could possibly be, leaning calmly against the wall. Her eyes were locked on his, and it seemed as though they were boring into his soul. One of her eyes was strange, darker for some reason, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint why from so far away. Long, black hair cascaded down around her shoulders in loose and messy curls, and her lips were an unnatural light blue. The same strange blue patterns that adorned Equius' skin flickered on her own. She smiled playfully, amusement glimmering in her eyes as she waved mischievously at him. Before he could say anything, she snapped her fingers, disappearing in a burst of light blue smoke._

_The cell around him began to fade. As it dissolved, a disconcerting feminine laugh filled his ears._

Eridan's eyes flew open. He was breathing hard. The haunting laugh from his dream echoed in his mind as he blinked away the last vestiges of sleep.

Something moved on his stomach and he instinctively swatted at it. His hand brushed against something hard covered in small, bristly hair. Pure terror ripped through him as he jerked upright.

A spider as large as a dinner plate sat dazed on his legs. Eridan screamed, a high pitched noise that vaguely resembled something dying. Sollux awoke in a panic, his psionics already crackling wildly.

"Jethuth fuck!" he shouted. Nepeta jumped to her feet, already morphing as she looked about in fear. Equius simply stared at Eridan for a moment in confusion. He took a step closer and gently picked up the spider, ignoring Eridan's whines. Sollux groaned, flopping over on the ground and rubbing his eyes. Nepeta giggled uncontrollably, her elongated limbs melting back to normal as Equius took the spider away. Eridan feared he was only releasing the creature and struggled to put his mind elsewhere. A sharp pain in his leg brought him back. He glanced down to see Sollux glaring up at him before punching Eridan again.

"You thounded like dog getting hit by a car, athhole," he complained with smirk. Eridan frowned, feeling his face heat up.

"And you w-wouldn't hawe screamed if you'd w-woken up w-with a giant spider on you?" Eridan defended.

"Not like a little girl or thome thort of dying animal." Sollux grinned, sitting up on his elbows. Eridan opened his mouth to retort but quickly shut it again, realizing he had nothing to say. Sollux's expression softened, sympathy mixed with something Eridan couldn't quite identify. "Theriouthly, you need to relacth. I know we're pretty much bait out here, but thtill, calm down a bit. Like you thaid, we need all the retht we can get." Eridan fidgeted nervously. Sollux sighed gently, rubbing his temples. He seemed to be contemplating something, then took a deep, decisive breath and stood up. He held his hand out to Eridan with a faint, slightly nervous smile. "Come on."

"W-What?" Eridan muttered in confusion.

"You're obviouthly too freaked out to fall athleep again. Tho, come on. We won't walk too far." He suddenly grinned slyly. "Don't worry. I'll protect you from the big thcary thpiderth!" he snickered. Eridan rolled his eyes before letting Sollux pull him up. "NP?" Sollux called over his shoulder. "We'll be back in a few." She stared at the two of them for a moment before her face slowly widened into the largest smile Eridan had ever seen. She waved them away hyper-actively. Sollux wandered into the trees, Eridan trailing fearfully after him and scanning the ground for any more spiders. Sollux watched him with a tiny grin, glancing about occasionally in his own, less frantic search. After a few minutes of walking, Sollux clenched his fists, setting his shoulders and taking another deep breath. "ED?"

"Yeah?" Eridan asked quietly. Sollux paused, leaning against a nearby tree. Eridan looked around, suddenly disoriented. He had been so busy watching the ground that he hadn't been paying attention to where they were going. Now he couldn't remember where they'd come from, and he couldn't see any sign of where Nepeta and Equius were. Sollux glanced at him and quickly looked away. "Sol?" Eridan could see the tips of Sollux's ears flush a pale yellow.

"There'th thomething I wanted to talk to you about..." Sollux trailed off, his fingers twisting together in a nervous fidget. Eridan frowned slightly, leaning against the tree next to Sollux and nudging his shoulder gently to get his attention. "Um..." Something that Eridan couldn't immediately identify raced across Sollux's face. "Thankth for carrying me down the river," he said hurriedly. Eridan watched, confused, as the yellow that had tinted Sollux's ears brightened suddenly into a much deeper hue. "With all that happened, I never really got to thay that. If I'd gotten attacked while I wath like that, I could have died. And I probably wouldn't have been able to thwim on my own. Tho...thankth."

Eridan smiled slightly. "You're w-welcome." His smile slowly fell. "That's not w-what you w-wanted to talk about though, w-was it, Sol?"

Sollux began fidgeting more, gnawing on his lower lip. "Well...I did mean to...um...no," he muttered. He took another deep breath. "What do you think of...fate?"

Eridan folded his arms across his chest. "I beliewe it," he said plainly. "I think ewerything and eweryone are tied together by strings of fate." Sollux glanced up as if to speak, but Eridan continued with a tiny smile. "But I think those strings are just that. Strings. They can be mowed and re-tied... ewen sewered. But they're still there."

"Everyone?" Sollux asked softly.

"Eweryone."

"Even..." Sollux hesitated, looking at the ground.

"W-What?" Eridan asked as he leaned over to see Sollux's face.

Sollux continued to stare at the ground with a puzzled expression. Eridan glanced down quickly. A tiny crack in the packed dirt snaked towards them. Little sparks of red and blue shot out of the ground as it widened beneath Sollux. "Damn..." Sollux growled quietly.

Eridan stared at the ground in panic. "Sol, mowe!" He tried to pull Sollux back from the widening hole. Sollux pulled his arm away and smiled hollowly.

"I'll be back in a minute, ED," he murmured. The ground cracked open and Sollux fell into the void. Eridan dropped to his knees and looked over the edge frantically. With a yelp, Sollux was thrown out onto the ground next to Eridan. He groaned loudly into the dirt, slowly sitting up and wiping bitterly at the scratches on his face.

"Are you alright?" Eridan asked worriedly.

Sollux laughed softly. "Yeah, I'm fine, ED." He staggered to his feet.

"W-What the hell w-was that?" Eridan stood up, still watching Sollux with concern.

"That wath the Helmthman." Sollux turned away from Eridan, slowly walking back through the trees.

"Your...oh, alright..." Eridan jogged to catch up with him. "Hey, Sol?"

"Yeah?" he asked quietly.

"W-What w-were you goin' to ask? Before you w-were... kidnapped?" Sollux tensed up, stopping abruptly, causing Eridan to run into him. Eridan looked at him worriedly. Sollux simply shook his head and took a step forward. Eridan grabbed Sollux's shoulder, spinning him around. "W-What is it?"

Sollux's eyes clouded over with pain for a brief moment, and Eridan instinctively opened his mouth to apologize. Sollux sighed, cutting him off. "It wath nothing, ED. Don't worry about it." He turned, wrenching his arm away.

"W-Wait, Sol!" Eridan said softly, tugging on Sollux's sleeve to get his attention. "I hawe somethin' to say, too." Sollux turned to him, his eyes slightly wide. "Before the w-whole... spider thing," he muttered, cringing at the thought, "I had a dream."

Sollux's face fell almost imperceptibly. He masked it quickly, looking at Eridan with a carefully contained, puzzled expression. "What thort of dream?"

"I'm not really sure. I w-was in some sort of pit full of tar, then I w-was in a cell. I w-was shackled to the floor and... Some girl w-was across the room, laughin' at me." Something seemed to drain out of Sollux, and he looked away. "One of her eyes w-was messed up or somethin' too." Sollux just sighed and trudged through the trees. Eridan cast him a nervous glance and followed him.

"Don't worry about it, ED. I'm sure it was nothing," Sollux muttered half-heartedly, looking around quickly before continuing to walk in the same direction.

"There you guys are!" Nepeta giggled quietly as they broke through the final line of trees. Eridan smiled back at her, but her grin fell as she watched Sollux lie back on the ground with his back facing the others. She turned to Eridan with a worried expression only to receive a shrug in response. She seemed to deflate slightly before turning away. Equius was leaning against a nearby tree. Eridan waited for a greeting before frowning slightly when he realized Equius was asleep. "I'm on watch," Nepeta murmured quietly as she noted Eridan's confusion. Eridan nodded slowly, lying down and hoping for a restful and dreamless sleep to come.

Only a few moments seemed to have passed before Eridan jumped up in fear, his eyes slowly adjusting to the permanent night around them. Sollux snickered as Eridan glared at him. "Don't look at me like that! You've been out cold the whole time," he laughed.

"W-What are you talking about? 'This w-whole time'?" Eridan mimed quotation marks. "It's only been a couple minutes!" Eridan whined.

Sollux struggled to stifle his laughter. "A couple of minuteth? You haven't woken up thinthe we got back! That had to be a few hourth ago at leatht." Eridan stared at him uncomprehendingly.

"But...that w-would mean..."

Sollux hesitated, standing up and turning away. "I... I took your watch latht night tho you could thleep."

Eridan blinked. "Oh. Thanks," he muttered, a small smile tugging at his lips as he stumbled groggily to his feet.

"We should... leave here before our... location is noticed," Equius said, motioning away from the small clearing with one hand as the other crossed his brow habitually. "Dioraka should... not be far." Sollux nodded quickly and Eridan let out a tiny sigh.

"Let's move out!" Nepeta said with a wide grin. Sollux snickered softly at her antics. Eridan rolled his eyes with a smirk, following the group through the sickly trees. Equius muttered new directions to Nepeta, who immediately began sniffing the air as she followed his suggestion. Eridan stumbled over a stray vine, glaring at it as if he wasn't at fault. Sollux glanced at him with barely contained laughter apparent in his eyes.

As time wore on, the energy that had accompanied the group at the start diminished. Nepeta's feet were dragging, and Sollux's red and blue eyes were half-lidded as he shuffled along. Eridan whined softly, his legs feeling like weights. Equius was the only one who seemed never to tire, continuing to forge ahead as if he didn't notice the others' fatigue. Finally, Nepeta's normally sure feet caught on a root. She lurched forward with a yelp, only managing to stay upright by catching herself on Equius's shoulder. He turned, grabbing her shoulder and helping her to the ground.

"I am... sorry, Nepeta. I am not... used to those with... less stamina than myself. Please... forgive me," he said with a worried expression.

Nepeta took several deep breaths, her face wrinkled with the pain no doubt plaguing her legs. "I'm really okay, Equius. I think I could – ow!" She tried to get up, only to fall once more to the ground. Equius cringed at her exclamation of pain.

"We should... rest here, I suppose? I had forgotten... how little endurance humans have." He knelt beside Nepeta. "You two..." he said, waving vaguely at Eridan and Sollux. "Do you think you could... retrieve some water?"

"Yes!" Before Equius could say anything else, Eridan had grabbed Sollux and was marching off into the forest.

"Wait! ED!" Sollux yelped as Eridan dragged him along. "ED! Thlow down!" Sollux wrenched his arm away.

"W-What?" Eridan said, crossing his arms across his chest. Sollux watched him for a moment.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Sollux looked around slowly.

Eridan rolled his eyes and began walking again. "To the w-water, that's w-where."

"I got that, thtupid. Do you know where the water ith?" Eridan opened his mouth to retort but quickly fell silent. Sollux rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Can you, I don't know, feel it or thomething?"

"That's-!" Eridan suddenly halted. "That's a really good idea, actually..." Sollux gave him a crooked smile and a shrug.

Turning away from Sollux, Eridan took a deep breath. His first thought was to follow the water that the trees were taking in, but as he looked at the trees, he saw how shriveled and withered they were and knew that there was not much water there to find. "Don't make fun of me," he muttered, feeling Sollux's eyes on him. He flopped into a sitting position, placing one hand on either side of him on the hard, dusty ground. "There has to be w-water eventually." Concentrating as much as he was able, he tried to imagine himself falling into the ground. As he did, some part of him detached from his body, racing desperately through the dry, cracked earth in search of water. His eyes flickered back and forth, no longer seeing what was in front of him. Earth raced past, shifting from its dusty state to soft soil. Withered trees were slowly revived before his sporadic vision. Eridan staggered to his feet and took off in a full sprint with Sollux shouting after him. "I found it!" Eridan crowed. Sollux stumbled out of the trees a moment later. The river was smaller than Eridan had expected, weaving its way sinuously through the wood and off into the distance.

"Tho now what, geniuth?" Sollux grinned slightly. "We don't have anything to get the water in. You left the anything we could have uthed at the camp." Eridan opened his mouth to reply, then shut it. Sollux's grin widened as he stifled his laughter.

"Shut up, Sol," Eridan mumbled. He sat on the damp ground next to the water, letting his legs dangle idly into the water. "There has to be somethin' w-we can do. I can get the w-water outta the riwer, but once it's out I don't know-w if I could hold it for long."

"Powerth not ath thtrong ath you with, ED?" Before Eridan could respond, Sollux's face lit up with an idea. Eridan stared, dumbfounded, as twin strands of blue and red light snaked out from Sollux's eyes, forming a tight sphere in front of him. "Let'th thee if my thionicth will hold water." Eridan didn't move. "Don't jutht thit there, thtupid!"

Eridan blinked, then lifted his hand slowly. A small stream of water rose obediently out of the river, and he expertly directed it into Sollux's sphere of psionics. "Ready?" Eridan asked. Sollux nodded almost imperceptibly. Eridan released his hold on the water. It stayed floating in the air for a moment, bubbling angrily inside Sollux's tightly woven psionics. Then, with a spectacular explosion, Sollux psionics burst apart from the effort. The last remnants of power from the psionics carried some of the water with it as it went. Eridan laughed as Sollux, drenched to the bone, crossed his arms angrily. "Do it again. I almotht had it." He paused. "I don't think I can hold it the whole time, though," he admitted begrudgingly, "tho we thould thwitch off on the way back." Again, Eridan lifted a stream of water and deposited it into Sollux's psionics. This time, the water stayed floating. Sollux's brow wrinkled from the strain of it.

"How do you do thith all the time, ED? It'th not...tholid." The water sloshed back and forth inside his twisted beams of light.

Eridan shrugged. "Let's go. Tell me w-when you need me to take ower." Sollux walked forward slowly, staring intently at the water as if it were going to attack him at any moment. "Oh for Christ's sake," Eridan complained. He flexed his wrist slightly, smoothly taking some of the weight of the water. Sollux smiled slightly, never breaking his fierce eye contact with the water in front of him. Between ragged breaths, Sollux managed, "I'm jutht...full of bright ideath today...aren't I?"

Something rustled in the tree above them. "Oh thit..." Eridan looked up quickly, loosening his mental hold on the water. Sollux gasped. Crouched in the tree above them was a dark form that Eridan couldn't quite make out. Before he could do anything, it jumped forward with lightening speed towards their camp, leaving rattling branches in its wake. As he stood, trying to construct any sort of image in his brain of the thing, more shadows ripped past through the trees. From slightly behind him, he heard the sound of the water splashing against the ground. "ED, what wath that thing?"

"I don't know-w, but it's headin' for the camp." As if to further punctuate his sentence, from far in the distance a high, girlish scream filled the air. "Nep! Come on, Sol!" Eridan's shoes squelched against the ground as he ran back through the trees. Somehow, Sollux managed to take the lead, psionics already sparking madly around him. Eridan could feel his lungs burning, his gills opening uselessly in search of oxygen. More black figures flickered past his peripheral vision as they skidded into the clearing. Equius held one of the creatures to the ground, a hand around its vaporous neck. It thrashed in his grip, a scintillating cloud of darkness that snapped at his fingers as it made rasping, retching noises. Long tendrils of smoke latched onto Equius, digging into his arm.

"Equius!" Nepeta's desperate cry came from inside an amorphous blackness. The edges of it writhed so quickly that Eridan's head hurt just looking at it. Sollux growled angrily and stared intently at the dark mass.

"Sol, don't!" Eridan grabbed Sollux's arm, pulling him back harshly. "You might hit Nep."

"I can't jutht let them thwarm her like that, ED. The'll die!"

"I know-w. Just..." Eridan trailed off.

"Jutht what? There'th nothing elthe to do. We have to–"

Another cry of pain rose sharply from the darkness, but was cut off eerily in the middle. Nepeta's scream was answered by a low, angry roar from Equius across the clearing. Sollux's psionics reacted insanely, and he stepped forward for better aim. With no other option presented, Eridan dove at Sollux, bringing him down to the ground. "ED, what are you–?!" Sollux yelled at him, kicking and twisting to break Eridan's grip.

"You're gonna hurt her. Just w-wait."

Equius' rage seemed to have boiled over. In one, swift motion he mercilessly broke the neck of the creature he had pinned to the ground, and threw several others against the ground or trees in quick succession. Eridan cringed at the sound of whatever bones they may have had being crushed and fractured. For a single moment, Equius stood perfectly still, staring at the writhing mass of monstrosities that buried Nepeta. Then with another blood-curdling roar, he ran across the clearing. As he picked up speed, Eridan's eyes lost track of him, and he became almost a blur. "There's no w-way...how-w is he mowin' so fast?" He closed in mercilessly on his target, then suddenly braced himself with one leg in front of the other. His arms solidified for a moment in Eridan's sight again, pulled back behind him, almost parallel. Then they vanished again, and Eridan only saw a slight blur of impossibly quick movement forward.

A sudden, incredibly strong wind swept over Eridan and Sollux. Eridan cringed as a booming thunder racked his earfins a few moments afterwards, the vibrations making him dizzy. The trees directly in front of Equius bent slightly as it rushed over them. Eridan watched in utter amazement and disbelief as the ominous black shadow flew apart into what must have been hundreds of individuals. Many of them were instantly killed upon impact with a tree, rock, or the ground. A few lucky ones survived the collision and skittered away as fast as their broken bodies could carry them. At last, the final vestiges of darkness had been scattered, revealing a battered but breathing Nepeta. Her clothes were stained with a light green liquid that Eridan realized after a moment must be her blood. She was curled into a tight ball, and her hands were clenching the ground desperately. She coughed sporadically for a few moments, then lay still. "Equius?" she whispered, "I'm cold."

He walked over to her, gently lifting her. Her hands remained fastened to the ground. "Nepeta," Equius said softly. "I need you to...retract your claws now..." There was an almost inaudible slithering sound as her hands lifted out of the hard earth, and an instant later Nepeta went limp in Equius' arms.

Before either Eridan or Sollux could move, Equius turned to them, his face hard and pained. The two boys quickly untangled themselves from each other and stood up. "Mr. Ampora, please retrieve...some water. Take...a flask this time." Eridan felt his face heat up with embarrassment. "And Mr. Captor, would you...assist me in...building a fire?" Sollux nodded wordlessly. A strand of psionics shot out and latched onto a water flask, flinging it uncompromisingly at Eridan. It hit him squarely in the chest, and Eridan flailed for a moment before awkwardly catching it and running back towards the river at top speed.

When he returned a few moments later, he was greeted by the somber crackle of a fire. Nepeta was lying unconscious next to it, squirming and crying out every few seconds. Equius hovered over her, clearly unsure of what to do. Eridan ran across the clearing and shoved the full flask into Equius' hand. He murmured a quick thank-you before bending over Nepeta and allowing some of the water to drip onto her forehead. She seemed to settle down a bit.

A sudden thought struck Eridan. He couldn't see Sollux anywhere. Frantically, his eyes swept the glade, coming to rest on a small lump a few feet away. Rushing over, he found Sollux collapsed from what must have been exhaustion. His limbs were splayed out awkwardly as if he had just fallen over and been too tired to stand back up.

"He fell here...after he started the...fire." Equius' voice spoke from just behind Eridan's ear, half-startling him.

"W-why?" Eridan blinked in realization. "Did you make him start it w-with his psionics?! You could hawe killed him! How-w could you be so stupid? You know-w he has limits! He–"

"Mr. Ampora...I would like to...point out that he offered...his services in...such a manner." The long sentence seemed to drain him, and with a deep inhalation he turned around and returned to Nepeta. Eridan stared after him, then looked at Sollux.

"You idiot..." he sighed. Without hesitation, he pulled some water out of the flask in Equius' hand, waving it over to rest on Sollux's temples. "You sorry idiot..." Eridan flattened the water so that it formed a smooth, thin sheet across Sollux's forehead. He felt an unexplainable heat build up in his back and arms as his surroundings seemed to get darker. Wrinkling his brow in concentration, he refused to let the water out of his careful control.

_Come on, Sol. Wake up. I can't keep this up much longer_. Sollux refused to move. Minute after agonizing minute passed, and Eridan felt his strength draining from him. _Wake. Up. Sol._ The last vestiges of tainted light faded from the sky, and with it his vision flickered in and out. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the sound of a small splash against the ground.


End file.
